


Hi, Welcome to Chili's

by DashingHeights



Category: South Park
Genre: College AU, Fluff, Italian Food, Kyle is lonely, Kyman - Freeform, Light Angst, M/M, copious amounts of memes, made up characters - Freeform, offensive language, pastabilities, rating will change with later chapters, tags will change, this fucker keeps changing his name tag, those aren't even real names
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-01-05 12:50:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 49,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21208826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashingHeights/pseuds/DashingHeights
Summary: This fic is super cereal, okay?Kyle’s just excited to finally be out of the quiet little mountain town of South Park. It’s not as far away as he’d imagined, but maybe that isn’t so bad. He loves the University campus, the little bookstore he studies at, and the quaint café next door. However, he didn’t expect to feel so lonely. With Stan in New York, Kenny back in South Park, and Cartman missing in action, his tiny dorm room and grouchy dormmates don’t exactly provide comfort. He finds a welcome distraction with the waiter he meets at the punny Italian restaurant just off campus. He swears he’ll figure out his name and why he looks so familiar.*There are smut warnings in the beginning notes of each chapter that has it, for those who prefer not to read that. If you don't like smut, you can still enjoy the story!*





	1. Pastabilities

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I told you I wasn’t done. Already had this idea cooking before I’d even finished the last one! These chapter titles are going to be stupid, I’m warning you now. Puns, memes, or vines. You can thank my friend, Canopy, for this one.
> 
> There’s a lot of made up characters in here, but I wouldn’t call them OCs in the traditional sense. They were created specifically for this story and have no other purpose. This could end up being longer than Sign of the Times, since I want it to span a significantly longer amount of time. Once again, a lot of the thoughts and feelings expressed in this fic are based/going to be based on my own personal experiences. I think some of you may be able to relate, too.

College was regarded as the promised land. For Kyle Broflovski, it was his ticket out of the quiet little mountain town called South Park. He’d taken a gap year to truly decide which university he wanted to go to, at the request (demand) of his mother. He’d gotten accepted into almost everyone he applied for, so it was merely a manner of choosing. After careful consideration and months of procrastinating, Kyle came to a conclusion:

He had absolutely no fucking idea what he wanted to do with his life.

When he’d applied to those colleges, he hadn’t thought about what program he wanted to do, he just knew he wanted to get away from where he was. He’d voiced these concerns to Stan Marsh, his neighbor and best friend since childhood. Stan had moved off to study in New York with his longtime girlfriend, Wendy Testaburger. He enrolled for some kind of engineering degree the fall after they graduated and didn’t hesitate as he and Wendy twirled off into the night like some dramatic romantic comedy. He and Kyle still kept up with each other over text and video chatting. Kenny wasn’t going anywhere until he’d raised enough money to move himself out because he didn’t want to go to college, so at least Kyle still had him.

And he would have had Eric Cartman, too, had his mom not struck the jackpot with some rich guy who wanted to pay for their lives as long as she ‘hung out’ with him sometimes. A real sugar daddy, Cartman had called it in the most sarcastic and bitter voice he could muster. Kyle distinctly remembered hearing sadness and disappointment beneath it. They moved as soon as Liane got the first check and Cartman didn’t tell anybody where they were going. That was four years ago. No one had seen or heard from Cartman since.

Over the holiday season, Kyle felt pressured to figure out what college he was going to. He wanted to give them an answer that spring so he could start in the fall. “Why don’t you just go for a general degree right now?” Stan had suggested, “you don’t have to narrow it down right away. Nobody ever scoffed at an associates, dude.” When Kyle told this to his mom, she thought it was a great idea and said he should just go to Denver University, then. It would be relatively close, so he could visit for holidays and summer break. Kyle was a little hesitant about the visiting part, but he supposed it wouldn’t be all bad.

And that was how he ended up standing in front of a dorm on the Denver University campus, a suitcase beside him and a box of some simple stuff from home under his arm. There were small piles of snow around, but it hadn’t gotten cold enough to stay yet. He was leaning on the hood of his truck, fiddling with his keys and waiting for the dorm attendant to meet him with his room key. He saw her walking down the sidewalk towards him, her dark hair almost covering one of her eyes and ripped jeans looking very impractical for the chilly weather. She reminded him of the goth kids from his hometown. “Here you go, Brofski,” She handed him a worn, silver key, “You’re the third door over on the second floor. If you need anything changed, just go to the building across the street there.”

“Thanks,” Kyle muttered, not bothering to correct her on the pronunciation of his last name. He was probably going to get that a lot. She gave him a lazy solute before turning and walking away. The welcome wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t the worst. He took a deep breath before grabbing his suitcase and heading up to his dorm room. It was empty save for a dresser, desk, and bed. He’d elected not to have a roommate, so it was smaller than it would have been, but it was still perfect. He set his suitcase down on the floor, box on the desk, and flopped down on the bed with a grin on his face. He laughed to himself, staring at the ceiling and internally congratulating himself on his achievement. He was finally out of South Park.

Now what?

The thought hit him like a brick wall. He was here. What did he do now? Classes didn’t start for another couple of weeks and he didn’t know anybody around. He thought about introducing himself to his neighbors, but this wasn’t a small town. He didn’t think people did that here and he didn’t want to botch his first impression. He sat up, biting his lip and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He supposed he could take a drive around campus, and maybe see a little of the surrounding city, too. Maybe there was a cool place he could go and hang out to meet people.

He unpacked his clothes into the dresser, leaving the bathroom stuff for later and not bothering with the box right now. Grabbing a red hoodie, he pulled it over his head and made sure he had his keys and phone before heading back down to his truck. The first thing he did was Google for coffee shops, libraries, and other places students would gather. It was later in the day, so they likely wouldn’t be too busy right now, but it was good to know where they were. There were two Starbucks on the campus itself, three more immediately off campus by the main roads. The University had a big library, but there was also a small bookstore next to a generic café, both of which looked much more Kyle’s speed.

He visited the bookstore first, since the café was closed and he’d half to come back later for that. The storekeeper was friendly enough, and there was indeed a sitting area for people to read or study in. Kyle noted the location as he drove back towards his dorm. As he neared it, his stomach growled. He tapped the steering wheel with his thumbs, glancing to the time on his dashboard. He didn’t have any food back at the dorm and he didn’t feel like grocery shopping today, so he decided he might as well check out the nearby restaurants.

He wasn’t in the mood for anything specific, looking at the different franchise names and waiting for one to pop out at him. Most of them were nation-wide brands he recognized; others sounded downright unappetizing. He happened to turn at a red light and catch the sign of a restaurant on the corner.

_Pastabilities_? He snorted. That was exactly the type of pun he enjoyed and was used to. He u-turned to enter the parking lot, which was relatively empty for it being dinner time. His phone buzzed with a text from Stan asking how his move was going. He put his headphones on before dialing Stan’s number instead of answering. “Hey, dude!” Stan greeted him cheerily, “how’s the dorm and campus?”

“It’s pretty fucking cool,” Kyle said excitedly, the grin evident in his voice, “I’ve just been driving around looking at stuff. Figured I’d stop for dinner. Look at this fucking restaurant name, dude.” He took a picture as he got out of his truck, stifling laughter until he heard Stan’s reaction. “Oh my god, new favorite pun,” the young man chuckled. Kyle hummed his agreement as he entered the building. A waitress across the room greeted him and told him to sit wherever he’d like. He picked a booth by the window. “So, what’s up?” Kyle asked Stan, shifting to get comfortable in his seat. There was movement from Stan’s end as he answered, “Just waiting on Wendy to get home. Her zoology class is so damn late, it’s a miracle she wakes up on time for her other ones.”

“You guys still living the good life together?” Kyle smiled, setting his phone on the table and resting his hands beside it. Stan sighed happily, “Yeah. This was a really good decision, dude. It’s been so easy living with her, and we share some classes, so I have a guaranteed study buddy.” Kyle bit his lip, almost envious of how well their lives were working out so far, “That’s great. I’m happy for you, dude.”

A waitress approached him, then, holding a menu, a meal slip, and a pen. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she was wearing a shirt that had the restaurant logo plastered across the front. “Welcome to Pastabilities,” She greeted cheerily, “what can I get you to start?” Kyle had to suppress a laugh, “Sorry, just.. the name. Um.. a water is fine to drink. And do you guys have like a special or something?” The waitress looked amused at the name comment, nodding, “Sure do. This week is a baked ravioli, cheese or beef.” Kyle handed the menu back to her as he said, “I’ll just take that. Cheese, please.” She jotted his order down before sticking the pen in her hair and taking the menu, “Gotcha. It’ll be out soon.”

Stan waited until he was sure Kyle was alone again before speaking, “Lemme know how that is. If I come visit, we gotta go there.”

“You better come visit,” Kyle chastised teasingly, “you and Wendy both.” Stan laughed, “Don’t worry, we’ll be home for Christmas and you can see us then.” Kyle smiled at that. His family didn’t celebrate Christmas, but that was when the school breaks were, so that was when everyone would be visiting. “I look forward to it,” The redhead stated. He heard a door open over the phone and Stan moving again, “Oh, gotta go. Wendy’s home.” Kyle sighed, “Alright. Talk to you later, dude. Bye, Wendy!” He wasn’t sure if she heard at first, but then he got a muffled but enthusiastic, “Bye, Kyle!” Stan chuckled, “Seeya.”

The call disconnected and Kyle took his earbuds out, coiling them up before putting them back in his pocket. There were only a few other tables occupied, which made the restaurant quiet and peaceful. His waitress brought the water he’d asked for and assured him his food was on the way. He didn’t mind waiting. The atmosphere was comfortable and cozy. From his vantage point at the window, he saw an older Jeep model enter the parking lot and pull up a space away from his truck. A guy that couldn’t have been any older than him got out, the Jeep frame jostling on the suspension. He was wearing a Pastabilities uniform and had the apron thing slung over his shoulder.

The young man was heavier set, but tall. Kyle didn’t imagine he’d come up past his chin. Something about his brown hair and profile was familiar, but he didn’t get a good enough look before the guy was disappearing around the corner to enter the restaurant. Kyle tried to see him better once he was inside, but the employee immediately headed to the back and the redhead didn’t get to see his face. A brief shiver went through him from the door opening and wafting in a cold draft. He ran a hand back through his curly hair, breathing in and out through his nose. As he’d gotten older, he’d figured out that he basically couldn’t do anything with his hair unless he had copious amounts of hair gel. So instead, he opted to keep it at a length that the curls wouldn’t get too out of hand, but also didn’t sit too tightly on his head. It was getting longer now and he’d need to cut it soon.

“Sorry for the wait,” His waitress appeared with his meal, then. Kyle smiled and shook his head, inhaling deeply, “Don’t be. It smells delicious.” She grinned and shrugged cutely, then went back to whatever else needed doing.

A couple of women, probably in their thirties, entered the restaurant. They were greeted by his waitress as she passed, and also told to sit anywhere. They picked a high-top table near the back of the joint. After a few minutes, the young man from earlier emerged to greet them and take their order. Kyle could only see part of his face; enough to tell that he was grinning and laughing with them as they joked about something. He forced his attention down to his dinner, stomach reminding him why he was there.

The food was amazing, and Kyle probably ate faster than he should have. When his waitress came around to collect his plate, she asked, “Did you want any dessert?” He bit his lip, “What do you have?” She showed him their dessert menu and he settled on a piece of cheesecake. He was texting Stan to tell him how good the ravioli was when another plate was set down next to him, “Here you go, man. Enjoy.” Kyle barely looked up in time to see the guy with the Jeep smiling down at him. “Oh- thanks,” He almost stumbled over his words as he was struck with such a powerful wave of nostalgia that he couldn’t place. The guy nodded and turned to leave. Kyle flicked his eyes down to his name tag to see if it was familiar. _Ricardo_? He crinkled his nose. Somehow that didn’t seem right.

He was gone before Kyle could say anything else. His face felt hot, like he was blushing. He finished his text to Stan before quickly devouring his cheesecake and then asking for the check. It was late and colder outside by the time he got back in his truck. He shivered, rubbing his arms as he turned over the engine and started the heat. He briefly glanced at the Jeep beside him, then towards the restaurant windows to see if he could catch one last glimpse at the mystery dude. What was this fascination he had with him? He just looked so familiar, but Kyle couldn’t think why. He’d never known anybody from Denver, not personally; certainly not enough to have this much déjà vu over them.

The redhead shook himself, driving back to his dorm room before he could dwell on it too much. He was as quiet as possible going up the stairs, sighing as he closed his door. He flicked the light switch only to discover that it didn’t work. Snorting, he went to his box of things and pulled out a table lamp he’d thankfully brought from home. It almost illuminated the whole, tiny room. The place felt a lot emptier now that it was dark, but he supposed that was because he hadn’t fully settled in.

Kyle removed his hoodie and changed into more comfortable clothes for sleeping, then plugged his phone in as he laid down. The bed was stiff, and the pillow had barely any stuffing, but he ignored it for now. He could buy a mattress cover and a new pillow later. This place even smelled foreign; he obviously wasn’t at home anymore. With a good night text to Stan, he rolled over to face the wall and closed his eyes to sleep.

* * *

At around seven am, Kyle’s room started thumping with some kind of alternative music. He jolted awake, sitting up and blinking as he looked around. “What the hell?” He grumbled to himself, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and grabbing for socks to put on. He stumbled out into the hall looking for the source of the music. A door further down opened and a short, spunky looking female in slippers and button up pajamas came stomping down the hall. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled up in a messy bun and she had a toothbrush in one hand. She passed Kyle without even a glance, pounding on the door next to his and screaming, “Mikah! Turn that shit down, you massive assbag!”

The skinniest person Kyle had ever seen opened the door. He was tall and lanky, black hair down to his shoulders and straw straight. He looked like he’d blow away if a gust of wind hit him right. “Why don’t you go snort a line of coke, Charlotte?” He snarled at the female, who glared back. “I have work in an hour and your God-awful trap music is throwing off my groove,” She sneered. Mikah rolled his eyes, shutting the door in her face. The music turned down a moment later, and Kyle sighed in relief. As Charlotte headed back to her room, she paused and looked him up and down, “What are you looking at, carrot top?”

“Uh, I’m Kyle,” He tried to sound friendly enough. She snorted, shaking her head and moving on, “Good for you.” Her door slammed shut. Kyle licked his lips, furrowing his brow. _Not the friendliest bunch of neighbors_, he thought to himself, disappearing back into his room. He could still hear the music faintly, but it was nothing compared to what it had been. He sighed through his nose, rubbing his eyes. He would’ve tried to go back to sleep but he was fully awake now and his stomach was begging for food. While he was still in South Park, he’d made sure to save up enough money to have spending cash for the first little bit of his move. His tuition was basically covered thanks to the scholarships he’d earned in high school, but he still needed to get a job if he wanted to do extra stuff. Now was a good a time as any to check out that café, he decided.

It had snowed a bit overnight. Nothing that wouldn’t melt once the day warmed up, but enough to frost his windshield. He scrubbed it off with his jacket sleeve. Turning on his truck radio, he flipped through the new stations he could get here to see if he wanted to save any. Most were hip hop or rock stations, but he did find two that played a variety of music. He assigned those to a preset each. Not that he didn’t have an audio jack and couldn’t play music from his phone, it was just that sometimes he liked to listen to the radio.

The café wasn’t as busy as he expected it to be, probably because it was a small chain compared to the Starbucks across the street. Kyle didn’t mind, getting out of his truck and stuffing his hands in his pockets as he headed for the entrance. A bell above the door announced his presence, and he was promptly greeted by a male barista who didn’t look much more enthusiastic than Kyle felt. “What can I get you this morning, sir?” The barista asked, wiping down the top of the expresso machine. Kyle briefly glanced over the menu, “Um.. the biggest regular coffee you got, I just need caffeine right now.” The guy nodded and moved off to get that. Kyle rifled through his pockets to get his wallet, preemptively getting out his debit card.

There were a few other people sitting at the tables, drinking their coffee and eating breakfast. “You not from Denver?” The barista asked as he set a large coffee cup in front of Kyle. The redhead smiled sheepishly, “No, I actually got here just yesterday. That obvious?” The guy shrugged, “You stare a lot. Most people from the city don’t do that. Also, you look a little lost.” Kyle pointed to a chocolate chip muffin to add to his tab before swiping his card, “Sorry. I’ve never really lived anywhere but my hometown. It’s kinda intimidating.”

“Don’t apologize,” The barista chuckled, handing Kyle the muffin before holding out his hand, “I’m Ryan. Welcome to Denver University.” This was the first person that had officially greeted him the entire twenty-four hours he’d been there, and it made his shoulders sag with relief. Kyle took his hand and shook it, “Kyle. Good to meet you.” Ryan smiled, “Likewise. Your hair naturally that fucked up?” Something about the tone of his voice told Kyle he wasn’t being malicious. The redhead laughed, “Uh, yeah. It’s hard to do anything with that doesn’t involve soaking it in hair gel.” Ryan chuckled and shrugged, “At least it’s interesting.” Kyle grinned. He sat down at the counter as Ryan went about his business cleaning and making sure supplies were stocked for the day.

“So, where’s home, Kyle?” Ryan eventually asked, wiping his hands on his apron. Kyle bit his lip, looking down at his coffee as he mumbled, “South Park.” The barista’s eyes widened, blinking rapidly, “Oh. You’ve seen some shit.”

“I’ve caused or know the people who’ve caused some shit,” Kyle admitted, avoiding eye contact. “Isn’t that Randy Marsh guy from there?” Ryan sounded too amused. Kyle nodded, sighing dramatically, “That’s my best friend’s dad.” The barista would’ve spit out his drink if he had one, “Are you serious? Dude, that guy’s a legend, he’s so dumb.” The redhead shook his head solemnly, “Yeah, I know.” He finished his muffin, bidding Ryan goodbye before heading back out to his truck. It was still early, but the sun was out, and it felt good on his face. He just stood there by his truck for a few minutes, soaking in the morning on his porcelain skin. Ryan’s comment about his hair flashed through his mind. Combined with the sunlight on his cheeks and the bit of fiery bangs he could see if he looked straight up, it reminded him of being called a daywalker. He could only chuckle at it now. Cartman did have some oddly accurate insults, he had to give him that.

Kyle drove until he found a nice, sunny hill near the northside of campus. He parked on the curb and got out to sit on a bench, leaned back to fully take in the sunlight as he sipped on his coffee. He heard a lone bird chirp off in the distance somewhere, the few leaves left rustling in the breeze that picked up. It ruffled through his hair pleasantly. On days like this, he and Kenny would take a walk to the park and people watch. He thought about calling his mom, but it was probably too early. She’d either be at work or on her way there. It was probably best he start unpacking his room, anyway. With a grunt, he stood and stretched, finding a recycling bin to dump his coffee cup in before starting the drive back to his dorm.

As he parked near the front entrance, he saw Charlotte rushing to her car. She made eye contact with him for a brief second, during which he tried to wave, but she ignored him. Kyle sighed. There were plenty of other students in the building, he supposed; it just so happened that the first two he met weren’t the friendly type. He didn’t get out of the truck immediately, still procrastinating unpacking and thinking of other things he could do. He did need to get some groceries. He didn’t have a real kitchen in his dorm room, but there was space for a mini fridge and microwave. He chewed his lip, putting the truck back in drive and backing out to find the nearest Walmart or something.

It was harder than he expected to think of groceries he could have that didn’t require freezing or refrigeration. The mini fridge he picked out was cheap and didn’t have a lot of room, but maybe he could keep some sodas and eggs in there or something. Cheese, maybe? He was having trouble thinking of anything he ever ate, now. Not to mention, he didn’t have any cutlery or utensils. He supposed he’d have to get that, too. That first grocery trip was expensive, and he internally cringed as his debit card slid through the checkout strip. He ended up getting a super cheap little cabinet, as well, to keep the nonperishables in.

The first thing Kyle did when he got home was setup the fridge and cabinet, then found a good space for the microwave before putting all his groceries away. There wasn’t much, but it would do for now. He glanced to his suitcase and the box on his desk. He almost didn’t want to empty them, for some reason. Shaking himself, he got to work putting everything from the suitcase where he wanted it; toothbrush and razor in the bathroom, the rest of the clothes in the dresser, shoes under the bed since he didn’t have a closet. Then he turned to the box. It had some pictures of his family and friends, as well as some little nick knacks he thought would help the place feel homier. He even had a South Park Cows jersey from the high school football team to hang somewhere. It had Stan’s number on it.

It was midday when he finished, and the sun was starting to beat through his window. Most of the snow from the night before had melted. He was plugging in a power strip he’d thankfully snagged from home to have his laptop, lamp, and phone charger powered all at the same time when there was a knock on his door. He glanced over his shoulder, brow furrowed as he hesitated in getting up. When he opened the door, there was a mousey little guy staring up at him with big, round, wire-frame glasses on his face. They were rose gold, matching the stud piercings he had in both ears. His thin hair was faded, and his blue eyes were magnified by the spectacles sliding down his nose. “Hi!” He greeted cheerily, holding up a store bought box of what looked and smelled like chocolate chip cookies, “I’m Sawyer. I’m your neighbor to the left.”

Kyle was at a loss for words initially, staring at this short young man with his mouth hung open stupidly. His jaw clicked as he snapped it closed, clearing his throat, “Um.. I’m Kyle. Nice to meet you.” He offered his hand, which Sawyer took enthusiastically. The cookie box was forced into his arms, then, “I just wanted to welcome you to our dorm. I know Mikah and Charlie aren’t the greatest at that, but they’re tolerable once you get to know them.” Kyle looked down at the cookies and smiled, “Thanks, dude. Uh, Charlie?”

“Charlotte,” Sawyer clarified under his breath, “she doesn’t like to be called that. Says it’s too prissy.”

“Oh,” Kyle glanced down the hall at the door he knew was hers, even though she wasn’t home. “Have you had lunch yet?” Sawyer pushed his glasses up his nose, but they immediately slid right back where they were before. Kyle shook his head. The spectacled boy grinned, “You wanna get subs or something? I’ll buy.” This guy was strange, but at least he was friendly. Besides, Kyle had met weirder people. “Yeah, okay,” He smiled back, “Lemme get my stuff together.” He left the door open as he set the cookies on his desk, pulling a pair of sneakers out from under his bed and lacing them on. Sawyer was looking around his room curiously, whistling as he spotted the Cows jersey hanging over the end of his bed, “South Park, huh? I’ve never met anybody from there. Is it as crazy as they say?”

“Crazier,” Kyle chuckled, grabbing his jacket, phone, and wallet before stepping out into the hall. Sawyer led the way down to the parking lot, unlocking a beat-up old Mazda that had probably seen a few generations. Kyle easily slid into the passenger’s side, buckling his seatbelt on instinct. “So, how’s your first official day been?” Sawyer asked as they turned onto the main road. Kyle shrugged, “Fine. Had a rude awakening, but I went to get coffee and the barista was nice. I went to this Italian place last night and it was really good. Pastabilities?” Sawyer laughed, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, they’re good. Charlie orders takeout from there a lot because she thinks one of the waiters is smoking hot and hopes to get him as a delivery guy. Full disclosure? She’s not wrong.” Kyle snorted in amusement.

They rocked up to a sandwich shop Kyle didn’t recognize, but Sawyer was confident in claiming their sandwiches were bomb. Kyle got what was recommended, and Sawyer paid like he said he would. They sat at a small table for two by the window. “Thanks for inviting me out,” Kyle voiced his gratitude, “I didn’t realize it was gonna be so weird to be away from my friends.” Sawyer nodded in understanding, “Yeah, we’ve all been there. I’m from Aspen, myself. Mikah came down from somewhere in Montana. I think Charlie is from here, but she doesn’t talk about where she grew up much.” Kyle nodded, biting into his sub and humming. He gave Sawyer a thumbs up, “Good choice, man.” The small guy beamed.

* * *

Walking back up to the dorm, Kyle noticed a familiar Jeep in the parking lot. He paused, furrowing his brow, then continued following Sawyer up the stairs before the shorter man noticed. He heard a female laugh, exaggerated and high pitch. Charlie’s door was open, the mysterious waiter Kyle had seen at Pastabilities was standing there holding two paper bags of food like he really just wanted her to take them already. “I always enjoy your name tags, they’re so refreshing,” Charlie commented, leaning against her doorframe and twirling a strand of blonde hair around her finger. Sawyer rolled his eyes and looked at Kyle, making a face, “I told you.” Kyle chuckled, shaking his head.

The waiter glanced to them with a tired smile that didn’t reach his eyes, then turned back to Charlie, “Thanks. Most people don’t really notice, which is why I can get away with it at work.”

“I think they’re funny and cute,” Charlie batted her eyelashes. Kyle could see the top button of her shirt was undone from where he was standing at the other end of the hallway. The delivery guy didn’t seem to notice or care, setting the bags down and pulling a receipt out of his pocket, “I just need you to sign here, Ma’am.” She briefly glanced around herself, patting her jeans as if they had pockets, “Do you have a pen I could borrow?” Maybe it was just Kyle, but he thought he saw the waiter clench his jaw briefly before digging into his other pocket and pulling out a cheap, ballpoint pen. Charlie made a show of taking it from him, giggling.

Kyle tried to focus away from them as he headed to his room two doors up from them, “Thanks for inviting me out, Sawyer. I had a good time.” The spectacled young man nodded eagerly, “No problem! It’s nice to have a friendly neighbor.” He pointedly glanced to Charlie, who stuck her tongue out at him. The delivery guy was still just standing there waiting on her to give the receipt back. She scribbled something extra on it, giving him a smirk as she handed it over, “You know, you haven’t ever told me your real name.” The comment piqued Kyle’s curiosity and he dropped his eyes to the name tag the guy was wearing. _Tony Ravioli_. He snorted, rolling his eyes and then looking back up at the guy’s face.

He was looking at him, the tiniest lip curl suggesting he found Kyle’s amusement satisfying. Then a few other emotions seemed to flicker across his face, the only ones Kyle could pick out being confusion and suspicion. Then the tall man turned back to Charlie, “I told you, you have to figure it out. It’s not an uncommon name.”

“But I’ve gone through entire lists!” Charlie sighed dramatically, “must you be so mysterious?” Tony Ravioli shrugged. “You have a good day, guys,” He directed at everyone as he made to leave. Kyle watched him walk all the way down the hall and disappear at the stairs. “I told you he was something to look at,” Sawyer commented, making Kyle’s eyes widen as he blushed, “O-Oh, no that’s not it! He just looks really familiar, like I know him from somewhere, but I can’t think where.”

“Yeah, somewhere like a dream,” Charlie sighed, picking up the bags of food and giving Kyle a pointed look. Before she disappeared into her dorm, she said, “Don’t even think about moving in on him, carrot top. I got dibs.” Kyle scoffed as her door closed, “As if dibs ever stopped anybody from doing anything, ever.” Sawyer raised an eyebrow coyly and Kyle backtracked, “Not that I want to, I just think the idea of dibs is dumb.” Sawyer put his hands up in surrender, “Whatever you say, Kyle. I’ll see you later.” He went back to his room as Kyle entered his own.

Kyle hesitated before going to his window to watch the delivery guy approach his Jeep. He stood there with the door open a moment, sorting through something. He glanced up and caught Kyle staring at him, raising an eyebrow and lazily waving. Kyle flushed and rubbed the back of his head as he waved back. The guy seemed to smile before getting into his vehicle and driving away. Kyle breathed in and out through his nose, rubbing his forehead and squeezing his eyes shut. It shouldn’t bother him so much, really. He probably didn’t even look like anyone Kyle knew, and he was just being a massive creep by staring at him every time he saw him. His phone vibrated in his pocket, a text from an unknown number.

_dude its kenny, i finally got my own fuckin phone!_

Kyle grinned at that, sitting on his bed as he saved the new contact and replied.

_That’s great, man! Now we can talk more. It’s already too quiet here._

The fact that he was over an hour’s drive away from anyone was still settling over him, like a slow-falling blanket. He knew it to be a fact, but it hadn’t fully hit him yet just how different this was going to be. He thought about asking Kenny when he could come visit, but he didn’t want to put any pressure on the poor guy. God knew the gas alone would probably be too expensive to endure very often; for either of them.

_i went to see your mom today, she says you havent called yet, bro_

Kyle bit his lip guiltily reading Kenny’s message. He had planned to call her, but when he thought about it earlier, it was too early. He scratched his nose, typing quickly.

_I was gonna call her tonight. I wanted to this morning, but I didn’t know if she was at work or not._

He set his phone down to take his shoes off, not bothering to untie the laces. Then he grabbed a bag of potato chips and sat back on his bed, pulling his laptop over with the intent to watch some Hulu or something. When he picked up his phone again, he already had another text from Kenny.

_i told her you would. said you were probably just out with your new friends or somethin lol_

For some reason, that made Kyle cringe. Not only did he not have any new friends -besides Sawyer, he supposed- but the way Kenny said it made it sound like he was replacing him and Stan. But that was impossible. He could never replace them.

_Mostly just checking out the area, actually. I had a rude awakening this morning. Most of my dormmates are kinda dicks._

Kenny’s reply was immediate.

_that sucks yo. hope you meet someone cool soon. I gtg help karen with a poster so ill ttyl_

Kyle plugged his phone in to charge, setting it on his desk while he turned back to his laptop. He had a couple shows he was into at the moment, but he didn’t feel like watching any of them. Instead, he checked the recommended movie tab and chose something stupid from there. He enjoyed B-rated movies from time to time. In fact, that was one of the only things he and Cartman could ever agree on towards the end. He remembered sitting on the couch listening to Kenny and Stan argue over what they were going to watch. Cartman would be sitting on the other end of the couch, but they’d exchange a glance and Kyle would sneak the remote away from Stan and find something like Two-Headed Shark Attack or Piranhaconda. Stan would groan and complain, but Kenny never minded and that meant they always won the majority vote.

Kyle frowned as he recalled their first sleepover after Cartman had moved. It wasn’t uncommon for him not to be there, as sometimes he sat out their gatherings for one reason or another. But that time was weird because it hadn’t been his choice not to go. Kenny in particular was abnormally subdued and concerningly sober. Stan seemed to care the least, though he did try to console Kenny. Kyle remembered feeling like something important was missing. Even if he was rude and loud and obnoxious, Cartman was their friend and had been around their entire lives up until that point. It was hard to believe he would totally cut himself off the way he did.

Kyle wasn’t even watching the movie anymore, sighing and closing his laptop. He idly tapped his fingers on the top of it, chewing the inside of his cheek. He supposed then was a good a time as any to call his mom. The phone rang a few times before Sheila Broflovski answered. Kyle was greeted with the usual; did he make it okay, how was his room, did he like it so far. He recapped as much as he could remember about the last day and a half, purposefully leaving out the Italian restaurant because he still wasn’t sure if he was just being a weirdo about that or not. “Have you met anyone yet?” Sheila asked eagerly. Kyle hesitated before responding with a lie, “Yeah, a few people. They’re great, you know, they’re all really close in this dorm.” He didn’t want her to worry.

“That’s great to hear, Boobie,” His mom sounded relieved, “and you have plenty of money to get you started?”

“Yeah, Ma, I told you I did,” Kyle chuckled, “I even got some stuff at Walmart today.” The conversation went on for a little longer, Sheila telling him how she and Ike missed him already, but she was glad he wasn’t as far away as he could’ve been. Secretly, he agreed with her. Eventually, she sighed, “Okay, Kyle. I’m really happy you’ve settled in well. I have to go start dinner, so I’ll talk to you again soon, okay?” She almost sounded like she was trying not to cry, and Kyle had to bury that thought deep to keep himself from mirroring the waver in her voice, “Okay, Ma. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Boobie.”

She hung up and Kyle stared at his blank phone screen for a while. He wasn’t sure what to do with himself now. Yesterday, he’d been so eager and full of energy. Maybe he just needed a nap; he _was_ woken up pretty early that morning. He set his laptop aside and laid back with his hands on his stomach, closing his eyes and trying to deepen his breathing.


	2. Oh My God, They Were Dormmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If nothing else, I make myself laugh with all these puns and stupid name tags. I’m having a ton of fun with this fic already and we haven’t even gotten into the meat of it. By the way, how is Kyle a name that has two syllables? It only has one vowel, and then a ‘y’ which is only sometimes a vowel. The only way to say Kyle with one syllable is to say it the way Cartman says it in the show. Do what you will with that information, I guess.
> 
> Also, I promise you, this is a Kyman fic. There’s gonna be some events in these early chapters that suggest otherwise, but bear with me, okay?

The night had been less than eventful. After his nap, Kyle enjoyed a cup-a-noodle for dinner and finished the rest of his bad movie. By that time, it was already pretty late. He probably shouldn’t have napped for as long as he did, but it wasn’t like he had anywhere to be the next day. When he did finally decide to go to bed, the following morning was once again disturbed by Mikah’s loud music. This time, however, he decided to roll over and wait for Charlie to tell him off. Their arguing went on for longer than last time, and their voices put even the music to shame, in some instances. Kyle didn’t know how such a quiet little guy like Sawyer could deal with this for however long he had.

Once the music was eventually turned down (Kyle was pretty sure Mikah blasted it solely to annoy Charlie), he was able to fall back into slumber. He slept until about noon, rolling over in bed and stretching. His back hurt a little since the mattress was still stiff and he’d forgotten to get a cover for it, but at least he had a better pillow now. Sitting up, he reached for his phone to see a couple texts from Stan about some idiots in his morning class. Kenny had also sent him a good morning text, most likely because he was excited about having his own phone and no longer needing to wait for his parents to add minutes to their plan. He responded to both while struggling to see his phone screen through a yawn.

He was pretty hungry by now and nothing he had in his room sounded appealing. His mind supplied Pastabilities, and the pastability (if he were being cheeky) of seeing that guy again. It wasn’t an obsession, he had to tell himself. He just really wanted to know who he was and why he looked so familiar! Besides, it gave him something to do other than sit in the dorm all day. He lazily threw a grey Fleetwood Mac sweatshirt on, brushing his hands through his hair to get it to make any sort of sense as he headed out the door. It was warmer that day, though still cold enough for his truck to take a second to start. He turned on the radio to have something easy to listen to as he tried to remember how he got to that restaurant in the first place.

It took him a little longer to find it the second time around, but he got there in the end. The Jeep was in the parking lot and it looked like Mr Funny Name Tag was sitting in it. He tried not to get too excited about that. Parking near the back of the lot, he slowly gathered his things and got out of his truck. The waiter guy wasn’t looking at him, but Kyle couldn’t have timed that any better because he opened his vehicle door just as the redhead was coming up on the other side. He avoided looking at him, planning to be nonchalant and pretend he didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t go too smoothly.

They reached the front door at the same time and Kyle stepped back with a mumbled apology. The tall, young man tilted his head, “Hey, aren’t you that guy I saw yesterday? On campus, with that crazy chick who was flirting with me.” Kyle blanched, then nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Yeah. I was here the other day, too. I like the food.” The waiter nodded, opening the door and waving him in, “I remember.” Kyle thanked him and stepped inside, then turned his head to see what his name tag said today. He wrinkled his nose, “Ragu? Really dude? You gotta be more creative than that.”

“Well, you could’ve chosen to support a better artist, but here you are in a Fleetwood Mac hoodie,” The guy easily fired back, smirking. Kyle was floored for a moment, staring at him with his mouth agape. Then he shook his head, glaring, “Hey, I’m a customer.” The guy laughed, adjusting his uniform and tying his apron around his waist, “I haven’t clocked in yet, Firewire.”

“Firewire?” Kyle narrowed his eyes in confusion. The waiter pointed to his hair with a smirk, “I haven’t seen hair that red since high school.” Kyle subconsciously put a hand in his hair, glancing up as if he could see it. Was that… a ginger joke? He stared as the mystery guy walked off to start his shift. Kyle didn’t know what to do with himself, but for some ridiculous reason, he felt like laughing. He hadn’t bickered with someone like that in years. The exchange was almost fun. “Hey, you’re back!” His waitress from the other day grinned as she met him at the door. He smiled back, “Yeah, I really liked what I had. I wanted to try the beef this time.”

She led him to a booth near the one he sat in last time, “The beef baked ravioli?” Kyle nodded as he sat down, “Yes, please.” He glanced to her name tag to see a normal name, but decided to ask anyway, “Is your name really Stacy or does everyone around here have gag name tags?” She looked confused for a moment, then laughed, “Oh, no. Just him. Nobody complains so management doesn’t say anything. Not that he’d listen to them if they did.”

“Real charming guy,” Kyle mused, briefly leaning to look behind her as if he could see the waiter. Stacy bit her lip and shrugged, “He is charming, in his own way. I mean, the customers love him.” Kyle recognized that tone in her voice, suggesting the customers weren’t the only ones that might harbor some feelings for him. He raised an eyebrow, amused, “I’ll take your word for it.” Stacy ducked out to put his order in, giggling. Kyle took his phone out to text Kenny and Stan that he was getting Italian. Stan said something about how the food must be amazing if he was there again already. Kenny didn’t respond right away, but when he did, it was to ask for Pinterest-esque pictures of the food before he ate it. Kyle begrudgingly agreed to humor him.

When his food got there, he tried to take pictures Kenny would like. He wasn’t one for those food blogs himself, but he knew the blonde liked to look at them when he was high. The witty waiter happened to walk by him as he was snapping photos. “Instagram blogging?” He teased quietly and kept walking before Kyle could respond. He turned in his seat to watch after him, nose crinkled in irritation. How could he possibly be a customer favorite if all he did was poke fun at them? More importantly, why wasn’t Kyle more upset about it? He decided to rant to Kenny and Stan.

_Kyle: Dude, this fucking waiter is weird as hell._

_Stan: How so?_

_Kyle: He made fun of my Fleetwood Mac sweatshirt and my hair._

_Kenny: i mean thats your fault for wearing a fleetwood mac sweatshirt_

_Stan: lol Kenny’s not wrong_

_Kenny: Fuck you guys, that’s not the point._

He scowled down at his phone and his so-called friends. He glanced around for the waiter briefly, then turned his attention back to his phone as it buzzed.

_Stan: If it bothers you that much, just complain to management_

_Kenny: nah dont be a snitch dude hes probably just having fun with you_

_Kyle: Well, that’s the thing. I’m not bothered by it._

_Kenny: then why did you bring it up_

Kyle paused, frowning. Obviously, it bothered him a little or he wouldn’t have wanted to tell them, right? Or maybe what bothered him was the fact that he wasn’t bothered. He scratched his head, feeling a phantom headache from thinking about it too hard.

_Kyle: Idk man. Never mind._

Kenny and Stan went back and forth for a minute, giving him shit for bitching for no reason. He ignored them in favor of eating his late lunch. A different text came in, then, from Sawyer asking if he’d eaten yet. Kyle swallowed his bite of ravioli with slight guilt, replying that he was already out, but Sawyer could come meet him if he wanted to. After reassuring him that no, he didn’t mind waiting, he gave him the name of the restaurant. It only took ten minutes for the spectacled young man to get there. “Why here?” Sawyer asked as he sat down across from Kyle. The redhead shrugged, “I like it.”

“Uh-huh,” Sawyer raised an eyebrow, “and it has nothing to do with Waiter McHot Shirt.” Kyle blushed and rolled his eyes, “dude, look, I just feel like I know him and I gotta figure out why. I just wanna know his name.” Sawyer shook his head, chuckling, “Well, if you figure it out, let the rest of us know. Charlie’s been trying for months.”

Stacy returned, greeting Sawyer and taking his order. “Did you want anything else?” She asked Kyle, who waved his wrist, “I’m good, thanks, Stacy.” When she left, Kyle turned a suspicious eye on Sawyer and leaned on the table, “McHot Shirt?” Sawyer’s face tinted a pretty pink as he coughed and took his glasses off to wipe them on a napkin. “His shirts fit him well, that’s all I’m saying,” He mumbled shyly, giving Kyle a little smile. The thing was, this guy in question wasn’t even that fit. Even with his uniform on, Kyle could tell he had pudge around the middle, like what you’d get if you sometimes worked out but still inhaled Tostino’s pizza rolls on a daily basis. Not that he’d thought that much about it, of course.

“What’s your plan for after this?” Sawyer changed the subject, which didn’t go unnoticed, but Kyle didn’t care. The redhead shrugged, “I don’t have one. I woke up and was hungry, so I came here to eat. Been here about an hour, I think.” Sawyer placed his glasses back on his face, adjusting them a little bit and blinking through them to make sure they were clear. He smiled, “Would you want to see a movie or something? My treat.”

“Ah, dude, I can’t make you pay again,” Kyle rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously, “I can cover myself.” Sawyer shrugged, “Up to you. I don’t mind. What movies do you like?” Kyle folded a napkin into a tiny triangle, flicking it down the table between the salt and pepper shakers, “I have a soft spot for sic-fi, but I’ll watch anything.”

While Sawyer was enjoying his meal, Kyle was idly looking around the restaurant. He noticed Stacy and the mystery waiter talking by the swinging door marked ‘kitchen’. The guy had his back to Kyle, but Stacy was facing him. She noticed him looking, grinning and waving enthusiastically. The waiter turned and caught his gaze, smirking as he raised his hand in a lazy wave. Kyle blushed and hunched his shoulders, waving back with a small smile. Sawyer snorted, raising an eyebrow at the exchange, “You’re not doing a very good job at convincing me you aren’t just here to look at him.” Kyle gave him a halfhearted glare, then glanced back to see the guy was still looking at him. Was Kyle seeing things or was that brief smile he flashed flirtatious?

“Dude,” His spectacled friend sounded incredulous, “I think maybe _he’s_ the one doing the looking. Charlie would murder you if she saw him smile at you like that.” Kyle blushed deeper and sputtered, “Wh-What? No, that was just.. it was nothing! C’mon, man.” He fiddled with his phone, checking for notifications he could respond to or something, but there was nothing. He huffed, “Are you done eating yet?” Sawyer nodded and flagged down an employee to ask for a box and his check. As they were leaving the restaurant, Kyle heard someone yell, “Seeya later, Gingersnap!” He snapped his gaze around to glare at the name tag falsifier, then pulled his hood up to hide his curly hair. He was poked in the arm as Sawyer smirked, “I think he likes your hair.”

“What?” Kyle raised an eyebrow skeptically. Sawyer shrugged, “Why else would he tease you about it?” Kyle didn’t think his face could get any redder. Maybe Sherlock Holmes-ing this guy wasn’t such a good idea, if this was the abuse he would have to endure. Sawyer was texting with both thumbs, humming as he walked Kyle to his truck. “You want to meet me at the theater?” He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose. Kyle glanced to the Mazda parked in the next aisle that he knew belonged to Sawyer. He shrugged, “We could leave your car here and come back for it later.” The short man bit back a smirk, nodding as he went around to climb into the passenger side of Kyle’s truck.

He gave directions to the theater and they settled on some nuanced horror Kyle wasn’t particularly interested in. He’d seen scarier stuff in real life. Sawyer, however, seemed pretty shaken up by the end of it. “You sure you’re alright?” Kyle teased for the ninth time since they left the cinema. Sawyer had all but retreated into his jacket halfway through the film and was still there now. He had his hands tucked into his sleeves, arms folded over his chest and shoulders hunched. He nodded to Kyle’s question, “I’m fine. It was just a movie.”

“Okay,” Kyle bit his lip in amusement, unable to help the thought that the short man was pretty cute like that. They headed back to the Pastabilities parking lot so Sawyer could get his car. Kyle parked next to it, scratching his head, “Thanks for hanging out with me again. You gonna be okay to drive back?” He reached over and poked the spectacled young man in the side, smirking. Sawyer jumped and whacked at his hand, cheeks pink, “Shut up, Kyle. I told you, I’m fine.” He was biting his lip, trying to hide a smile, but Kyle saw through it. He chuckled, shrugging, “Alright.”

A few beats of silence passed where they basked in each other’s company. Kyle felt his stomach churn when Sawyer leaned over and punched his arm lightly, then the shorter student slid out of the truck. “Thanks for driving,” He smiled shyly, fiddling with his sleeves, “and humoring me in seeing a movie.” Kyle shrugged and smiled, “Don’t say it like I didn’t have a good time.” Sawyer grinned, running a hand back through his hair, “Yeah. Me too. I’ll see you at the dorm.” He hesitated before closing the truck door. Kyle watched him walk around the front and get into his car, then smile and wave before driving off. The ginger’s face felt hot. Were they flirting just now?

Kyle shook himself, taking a deep breath before heading back to the dorm, as well. Sawyer was already inside, which was probably a good thing because he was feeling a bit confused now. He’d figured out by now that the shorter guy was gay; or at least into men to some degree. That wasn’t hard to infer, and it didn’t bother Kyle in the slightest. What confused him was the fact that he might find Sawyer attractive in an adorable way. Truthfully, he’d been questioning whether or not he liked guys for a few months, but he’d never met anybody outside of South Park to test that theory. Not that he regarded Sawyer as a test, it was just interesting that he was experiencing these feelings.

Charlie was suddenly at the entrance to the dorm, lighting a cigarette and leaning against the brick building. Kyle got out of his truck and shoved his hands in his pockets, heading for the door. “You havin’ an existential crisis or soemthin’?” She puffed around the tobacco, blowing a trail of smoke off to the side. “Huh?” The redhead blinked at her intelligently, stopping with his hand on the door handle. She rolled her eyes, “You were sittin’ there for a while starin’ at nothin’.” Kyle shrugged, adjusting his sweatshirt collar, “Just thinking.” He didn’t really want to divulge any personal thoughts to her, since she obviously didn’t like him very much. She didn’t say anything else, so Kyle continued up to his room. He was reminded of the light switch not working when he tried to use it, huffing and rolling his eyes as he turned on his lamp once again.

He thought about texting Stan with this new information he’d uncovered, but something was holding him back. They were best friends; super best friends, even. Stan wouldn’t judge him for being into guys… right? Kenny was openly unbiased. He’d fuck anybody, so there was no question there. Stan had never voiced an opinion on that, though. Kyle toed his shoes off and laid back on his bed, propped on his side as he opened a new text to Kenny.

_How did you figure out you were into guys, too?_

The response he got was less than encouraging.

_wow two days at college and youre already wanting to experiment lmao_

Kyle scowled down at his phone, starting to type back when he got another text.

_if you were still here id offer to help you_

The redhead paused, quirking an eyebrow. Did Kenny just hint at propositioning him? His cheeks flushed with color and he shook his head, rewriting his message.

_No offense, dude, but I don’t like thinking about you like that._

_do you ever think about stan like that_

Kyle bit his lip. He had, but he’d basically been forced to. It was a running joke their whole lives that Stan and Kyle were gay for each other. For a brief period in middle school, Kyle worried they were right, but the thought of kissing Stan was less than appealing even now.

_I used to, but only because everybody joked about it. I definitely don’t want to kiss him or see him naked._

Kenny took a while to respond again, leaving Kyle to stare at his ceiling and tap his fingers together impatiently.

_So whos making you have gay thoughts_

Kyle didn’t want to admit it because that meant it was real, and he wasn’t sure if it _was_ real. But not only were his thoughts about Sawyer stirring questions, this weird thing he had with the waiter at Pastabilities also made him wonder. He gritted his teeth and quickly sent the explanation before he could second guess it.

_This guy I met here. I think he was flirting with me earlier and I think I was flirting back. Also, that waiter I told you guys about? I think he was flirting with me, too. And I was irritated but also not irritated at the same time._

_Aaw youre a tsundere_

Kyle frowned. He didn’t know what that meant, only that it was some weird anime thing Kenny sometimes dropped in conversations.

_Dude, I’m being serious._

_i know i know im just teasing. so what if you like guys. just go with your gut fam_

_You think Stan would think differently of me?_

Maybe it was a dumb concern, but it was a concern he had, all the same.

_no he wouldn’t_

Kenny seemed so certain that Kyle felt stupid for worrying.

_Okay. Thanks, Kenny._

_lemme know how it goes man_

Kyle plugged his phone in, setting it on the desk and staring at nothing. It wasn’t that late in the day, he could still get something done. But he honestly didn’t feel like moving right then. He decided to put another dumb movie on, folding his pillow in half so his head was propped up further than normal.

* * *

The next two weeks went like that. Sawyer was adamant in inviting Kyle to do things, and Kyle always agreed because he didn’t have anything better to do. Also, he did enjoy the company, gay thoughts or not. He even went bowling with Sawyer _and_ Charlie once, which was awkward because Charlie basically ignored his existence unless it was necessary for her not to. But she wasn’t rude, and Kyle endured, because they were both friends with Sawyer. That started a trend of the three of them hanging out sometimes. When they were all together, Kyle talked very little. He mostly listened to Charlie and Sawyer go back and forth. They liked to debate about everything.

When it was just him and Sawyer, however, that tension was back. The spectacled young man was definitely flirting with him, Kyle concluded. And he often flirted back, because where was the harm in that? It was fun, and it felt nice to have that interaction. He hadn’t thought about the mystery waiter for several days, until one Saturday when Sawyer and Charlie went to a musical theater thing Kyle couldn’t have gotten tickets to if he tried. He was passing time on his laptop, trying not to think about the fact that he was alone in this city. He’d been fighting a sense of loneliness lately; one that ebbed while Sawyer and Charlie were around but returned full force as soon as they were gone. He sighed through his nose, glancing out the window. They wouldn’t be back until late tomorrow because the production was in a different part of the state.

He looked to his food cabinet and mini fridge. He was running low on stuff. A trip to Walmart wouldn’t hurt. Kyle closed his laptop definitively, sliding on his shoes and a bigger coat this time because it was getting colder and colder as the days passed. He even grabbed a green beanie he’d been told complimented his eyes well. He idled in his truck for a few minutes, letting the heat warm him and melt the frost on the windshield before he scraped it off. The parking lot was dotted sparsely with customer vehicles. Kyle parked near the front, adjusting his hat as he got out of his truck. He’d tried to make a better list this time, based on things he’d wished he’d gotten last time. He did need more toothpaste, so he grabbed a basket and headed to that section first.

Kyle wasn’t one to make conversation with strangers, usually. He kept to himself as much as possible, shoulders hunched and chin burrowed into his coat collar. His curly, red hair wasn’t completely hidden under the beanie, which proved to give him away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone pass by the end of the aisle. He didn’t pay them any mind, until they reversed back into his view.

“Hey, Rusty,” A familiar voice greeted him, drawing his gaze. Kyle blanched and straightened up as he was approached by the man of mystery himself. “I thought that was you,” The guy chuckled, hands in his pockets. He had his own winter coat on, but the front was unzipped and Kyle could see his uniform underneath. The redhead rolled his eyes at the nickname, “And what do I call you this time?” The waiter smirked and pulled his jacket aside to reveal his name tag. _Covfefe_. Kyle bit his lip, clearing his throat to hide a laugh as he nodded, “At least it’s topical.”

“I’m thinking Nickelback for tomorrow,” The taller man mused, idly glancing over the wall of toothpaste. Kyle scoffed, “And you made fun of me for my shit taste in music.” That earned him a belly deep laugh, which brought an involuntary smile to his face. “Are you headed to work?” he couldn’t help but ask, shifting the shopping basket to his other arm. The waiter shook his head, “Already finished my shift. I’m just picking up a few things before heading home to watch a B-rated movie or something.” Kyle couldn’t help the excited grin and response he gave, “Hey, I love those movies. The shark ones are my favorite.” The young man in front of him looked pleasantly surprised, “Really? That’s cool. Maybe we should hang out and watch together sometime.”

Kyle blinked. Was he asking him out or just being friendly? After a beat of silence, the brunette waiter brushed a hand through his hair and sucked in a breath through his teeth, “I should get going. See you around?” He started to back out of the aisle, turning to go when Kyle lurched forward and grabbed his wrist. “Wait,” He stared up at surprised, brown eyes, swallowing at the heavy air around them, “what’s your real name?” The waiter barked a laugh, raising a hand to curl an exposed strand of Kyle’s fiery hair around his index finger, “Nice try, Freckles, but you’re not getting it that easily.”

Something about the tone of his voice made Kyle’s hair stand on end. He realized he was still holding onto the man’s wrist, letting go and taking a step back; which consequently made the waiter drop his hand from his hair. He winked at Kyle before disappearing around the end of the aisle.

The redhead pursed his lips, feeling slight irritation over the denial of learning his name. It was a game for him, then. Besides the annoyance, however, he felt a heat on his cheeks and the back of his neck; somewhat in his belly, too. It was almost like what he felt with Sawyer, but ten times more potent. He puffed out his cheeks, glaring at nothing as he grabbed a tube of toothpaste and stalked off to finish his shopping. When he got back in his truck, he texted Stan with aggressive thumbs.

_Are you available to call?_

It didn’t take long for Stan’s contact to light up his phone screen. He hit answer and was immediately bombarded with questions, “You okay, dude? What’s wrong?” Kyle didn’t usually ask before dialing him. “Stan, I like guys,” The redhead blurted, taking the beanie off his head to having something for his free hand to mess with. There was silence on the other end until Stan said quietly, “Oh. Okay. Why do you sound like you’ve been running a marathon?” Kyle didn’t realize his heart was still pounding. He leaned back against his seat, taking a deep breath and letting it out through his nose, “Sorry.. I just.. I didn’t know how you’d react, and I just had it confirmed like ten minutes ago, so I’m still a little shaken up.”

“Confirmed?” Stan sounded even more confused, “what the hell happened?”

“Well..” Kyle bit his lip, considering how he should explain this. He skipped some details, but generally explained the situation with the mystery waiter, and a little about Sawyer. “And this is the same guy you were telling Kenny and me about the other day,” Stan clarified. “Yeah,” Kyle sighed, “I think he was hinting he wanted to hang out with me, but I didn’t know what to say.” He could hear the despondence in Stan’s voice as he said, “Please tell me you said _something_. Obviously, you like the guy, and ‘hey we should watch movies together sometime’ sounds like a pretty clear invitation to me.” Kyle was silent, and Stan groaned, “Dude. You left him hanging?”

Kyle sputtered, “Well, what about Sawyer? I think I like him, too, and he’s shown more interest in me so far.” It sounded like Stan moved around a bit before sighing, “The way you describe them to me, you’ve got a lot more chemistry with this pasta-whatever guy. But it’s up to you, dude. I’m not there to be your wingman.”

“I wish you were,” Kyle grumbled, glancing out his windshield at the Walmart sign, “he won’t even give me his name. It’s like it’s a game for him, that I have to figure it out.” Stan was hiding a chuckle as he said, “It’s keeping you thinking about him, isn’t it?” Kyle almost gasped in realization, mouth hanging open. He hadn’t even thought about that. “That fucker!” Kyle clenched his fist around his beanie, face screwed up in embarrassment. Stan laughed over the phone.

The sound of a door somewhere in the background made Kyle glance to the phone. “Hey, Wendy,” Stan greeted his girlfriend, “Kyle’s having guy problems.” Wendy’s voice was surprised as she responded, “Oh? What kind of guy problems?” Stan snickered as he explained, “He’s got two guys doting over him and he doesn’t know which one to pick.”

“That’s easy,” Wendy’s voice was quieter, as if she’d moved away a little, but definitive, “whichever one he has more in common with.” Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose as Stan spoke to him, “There you go.” The redhead sighed, “Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s that easy in this situation, but thanks for the advice.” Wendy said something else that Kyle couldn’t hear, and Stan made a noise in response, then told his friend, “Gotta go. Dinner time. Text me updates, okay?” Kyle agreed before hanging up.

He dropped his phone on the seat beside him, resting his forehead on the steering wheel and closing his eyes. This whole situation was ridiculous and lame. He hadn’t even started his classes yet! He needed to get his shit together and focus on something other than tall, handsome men with ludicrous name tags. Sawyer was softer, anyway; and almost always available. Driving back to his dorm, he vowed to avoid worrying about the restaurant and the mysterious waiter. All he had to do was not go there for a while. Yeah. Easy.

Except that wasn’t so easy when all he could think about the rest of the day was warm, brown eyes and thick fingers in his hair. It was probably good he didn’t have a name to go with the face because he couldn’t accidentally call anyone else the wrong thing. How embarrassing that would be. He remembered overhearing the guy tell Charlie his name wasn’t uncommon, but she said she’d gone through lists and still hadn’t figured it out. If only he could look at those lists…

_No!_ He scolded himself, glaring at nothing. He wasn’t stooping to that level. He didn’t need to know his name, he didn’t know who he was, and it didn’t matter if they flirted a little. Enough was enough.


	3. Do You Ever Wanna Talk About Your Emotions, Kyle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is super easy to write because I can put even more of my own experiences into this one. College was weird, especially the first year. And while I didn’t attend on a campus, I did live away from home for the first time. I had a lot of back and forth conflict over missing my friends and family back home, but also wanting to spend time with the new friends I had made. It was scary and really lonely at times, especially when I would hear about stuff going on but I couldn’t be there to experience it.
> 
> P.S. the vine this is named after is called “do you ever wanna talk about your emotions, Tien”

Kyle’s first classes officially started almost 4 weeks after he’d moved onto campus. He chose to take three at once, thinking that’d leave him plenty of time for a job, whenever he got one; as well as what little social life he had. He didn’t have any classes with Sawyer or Charlie, so his school days were spent keeping to himself. He didn’t talk in class unless spoken to first, and he stayed holed up in his dorm room to complete his homework. So far, the experience wasn’t much different from high school, except that his friends weren’t around and he wasn’t going home to his family every night. If he thought about it too much, that loneliness he was fighting would rear its ugly head. Classes helped him occupy his mind, at least.

He’d learned that Sawyer was an over achiever and had signed up for five classes that semester. He didn’t see much of him during the week. On weekends, they still hung out; they went to movies, out to lunch or dinner, and included Charlie a lot. What they never did was hang out at a cafe, or the bookstore Kyle had taken to studying at, or their own dorm even. It was cool and fun, going out and doing things; Charlie and Sawyer were very active individuals. But Kyle was easily drained, especially because he wasn’t used to the noises and lights of the city. Once, they’d tried to take him to a concert for some band he’d never heard of before. The event was hosted at the campus amphitheater and there were tons of screaming, singing students about. Kyle had gotten too overwhelmed and had to leave after only a few songs. He didn’t like disappointing them, specifically Sawyer, but he had his limits.

He still thought about the Pastabilities waiter, when his mind was calm enough to. He’d only seen him one other time since running into him at Walmart, and that was when Charlie ordered takeout and asked specifically for him to deliver it. Kyle had merely passed him on the stairs as he was coming back from class. They exchanged greetings, but the redhead was particularly tired that day and hadn’t said much else to him. He didn’t even look at his name tag.

Wendy’s advice still haunted him at night. _Whichever one he has more in common with._ It bothered him, for two reasons. The first was that it implied he needed to get to know the mystery man better, which he was apprehensive towards. The second was that the underlying message of that statement was that people without much in common wouldn’t have much to do together or talk about. He knew that was true because even friendships worked that way, but he didn’t want it to be. From what he knew of Sawyer now, he liked going out and doing things and talking to people and being a part of big activities. He liked attention and he liked public gestures.

Kyle wasn’t a big fan of any of those things. He cherished quiet moments and one on one time. He liked hanging out together and watching movies without having to pay for them or sit in a crowd. Maybe it was because of where he grew up and the massive amounts of ridiculous things he’d seen, but he preferred privacy and subtly. The biggest excitement he wanted was trying to guess a stupid waiter’s name.

Sitting at his desk and pouring over an essay that wasn’t due for another week, Kyle sighed heavily. He leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. He’d been staring at the LED screen for a few hours now and he probably needed to stretch his legs. Glancing at the time on his laptop, he figured Sawyer should be back from class by now. He stood from his desk, pulling on his shoes and coat, then stepping out into the dorm hallway. He knocked on his spectacled friend’s door, hands in his pockets to wait. Sawyer grinned when he saw him, “Hey, Kyle.”

“Hey,” Kyle smiled back, feeling that familiar flip in his belly, “I’m gonna go for a walk and I was wondering if you wanted to go with.” Sawyer’s face fell, his teeth worrying his lip guiltily, “I’m sorry, Kyle, I really need to get that project done for oceanography. Maybe tomorrow? We can walk to Starbucks or something and get coffee.” The redhead sucked in a quiet breath, dropping his gaze as he nodded, “Yeah, okay. Sorry to interrupt you.” Sawyer shook his head, “You never interrupt me. I’m sorry.” He took as long as possible to close the door, giving Kyle an apologetic smile.

The ginger stood there staring at the wooden door for a moment, then turned and walked silently down the hall to the stairs. It was snowing lightly outside, dusting his hair in a powdery white. It was mid-October and the campus had started putting out Halloween decorations. Little plastic pumpkin lights lined the railways, and each building had one or two decorations by the front doors. It was nice to see, really. Kyle liked Halloween, even though he hadn’t actually gone trick or treating since eighth grade. Back in South Park, he, Stan, Kenny, and Cartman would pool their money together to get the huge bags of candy. Then they’d sit in the basement of either Stan’s or Cartman’s house and binge watch Halloween movies while they overdosed on sugar. That tradition even carried on after Cartman left, and he and Kenny had done the same thing last Halloween in his bedroom, even though Stan was in New York. This would be the first holiday without any of his friends.

He didn’t stop until he reached the fine arts building, which had three marbled fountains out front with color changing lights in the bases. The water wasn’t on because it was too cold and it would just freeze, but the lights still were. Kyle sat on the lip of the middle fountain, staring out over what he could see of the large campus. He closed his eyes, hanging his head and gripping the marble he sat on so tight his knuckles turned white. He felt the first bit of hot tears force themselves out of his eyes. They stung his already red, cold-bitten cheeks.

It was too late to call his mom; definitely too late to call his best friend, since the eastern time zone was ahead. What he wouldn’t give to watch a football game with Stan, or smoke a joint with Kenny, or even argue over something completely stupid with Cartman. He tried to bite back his sobs, but his chest and lungs hurt too much to hold them in for long. God, he was twenty years old and bawling his eyes out over missing his friends. He must have looked pathetic, sitting there on that fountain with tears flooding down his face, his body shaking with gasps and sniffles.

He heard footsteps crunching the snow somewhere off to his right and he tried to stifle his crying. Wiping furiously at his eyes, he noticed two figures come to stand next to him. “Are you okay, hun?” A female voice asked. Kyle furrowed his brow, thinking he’d heard it before. He blinked the remaining tears out of his eyes only to come face to face with Stacy, who looked just as surprised when she realized it was him. “Stacy?” He sniffed, wiping his nose on his coat jacket. Another young woman was standing behind her looking equally as concerned. “What are you doing here?” Kyle asked.

“Me?” Stacy scoffed incredulously, “What are _you_ doing here? It’s freezing and you’re crying, probably sweating because of it. You’ll give yourself hypothermia.” Kyle shrugged, fiddling with his jacket sleeve, “I needed to get out of my room..” Stacy sighed, glancing back at her companion before sitting on the fountain next to him, “What’s wrong?” he shrugged again and Stacy’s friend crossed her arms over her chest, “Don’t be one of those guys who thinks talking about his feelings makes him weak. That’s such horseshit.” The redhead gave a little chuckle at that, “It’s not that.. I just.. don’t know if I can say it without crying again..”

“You should try,” Stacy encouraged, “you might feel better if you talked about it.” She set a hand on Kyle’s shoulder and his lip quivered. He shook his head, looking down at the ground as he sniffed, “I’m homesick, I guess. I miss my friends. I’ve never celebrated a holiday without them.” His voice cracked on the last syllable and he dropped his head in his hands, shoulders starting to shake again. He felt Stacy wrap her thin arm around his back, resting her head on his shoulder as she said, “You’re not alone. The first year is really scary and weird. It takes some getting used to, but that’s part of growing up.” Kyle nodded fervently. He knew that, it was just hard to remember when he felt this shitty. He set a hand on her arm in thanks for the comfort, then forced out between sniffles, “M-My name’s Kyle, by the way.”

Stacy grinned at him, squeezing his shoulder, “Good to formally meet you, Kyle. We were just on our way to get some hot chocolate from the cafeteria. Do you want to come with us?” The offer was tempting, but Kyle was tired and emotionally drained, now. He shook his head, “Thanks, Stacy, but I think I just want to sleep now.” He briefly squeezed her hand, getting to his feet, “Really, though, thank you.”

“No problem,” Stacy smiled brightly at him, standing herself, “hey, visit the restaurant soon, will you? Your favorite waiter’s been mopey since you haven’t been in.” Kyle raised an eyebrow, tipping his head curiously, “My favorite waiter?” Stacy winked and tapped her right collarbone where one might tack a name tag. As she and her friend walked away, Kyle blushed deeply. He wiped the remainder of tears off his face, shivering lightly as he turned to head to his dorm. He didn’t realize how much he needed a hug, and he was glad for it. By the time he got back, the hall lights were off, meaning it was past eleven pm. He carefully stepped into his room and took off his coat and shoes.

Thinking about what Stacy said, he re-evaluated exactly why he was avoiding Pastabilities. Because he was worried about betraying Sawyer? They weren’t even in a relationship, and they had so little in common that Kyle was starting to lose hope they could make that work, anyway. He wasn’t sure what it was about the place, but it felt familiar and like home. Maybe it was just that waiter. Changing into pajamas, Kyle curled up under his covers and mentally went over his schedule for the coming week. He could squeeze in a visit or two, for sure. Hell, maybe Sawyer would want to go, too. Charlie most definitely would.

* * *

It was another two days before Kyle had the opportunity to go back to the Italian restaurant. They were walking back to their dorm after classes, Charlie and Sawyer discussing dinner options. Kyle, normally reserved and content to let them decide, spoke up, “We could go to Pastabilities.” Charlie eyed him a moment, then smirked and looked to Sawyer, “You know I’m always down to go to Pastabilities.” Sawyer’s face was unreadable for a moment, then he smiled and nodded, “Okay. Why not? We can take my car.” Kyle internally celebrated for that going so smoothly.

The bell dinged as they entered the establishment. A waitress Kyle didn’t recognize told them to sit anywhere. Kyle would’ve normally gravitated to a booth, but he’d somewhat figured out that the waiter he was looking for managed the high-top tables. He headed for one by a back window, Sawyer and Charlie following without question. It was stupid, the little cartwheels his stomach was doing. Charlie was smoothing her hair and adjusting her boobs, which Kyle and Sawyer both rolled their eyes at.

“Well, well, well, look at this bush fire,” The mystery waiter appeared soon enough, grinning at all of them but specifically at Kyle. “Bush fire?” Sawyer tipped his head, confused. Kyle laughed nervously, brushing his fingers through his hair subconsciously, “Yeah, he uh.. he means me.” Charlie narrowed her eyes as Kyle looked up at the young man, not missing that unmistakable excitement in his dark eyes, “And today you are..” He checked the name tag, only to burst into a fit of laughter. The taller man puffed up proudly at that, unable to hide his grin at making Kyle laugh. “_Stacy’s Mom_?” Kyle rubbed his eye, still laughing lightly. The waiter shrugged smugly, handing out their menus, “She thinks it’s funny, too. What can I get you guys to drink?”

Sawyer and Kyle were fine with waters, but Charlie ordered a Pepsi. Kyle was already in a better mood, smiling as he watched the brunette walk away. Charlie exchanged a look with Sawyer, then leaned on the table and cleared her throat, “Kyle. What did I tell you about dibs?” The redhead turned to her with a crinkled nose, snorting, “First of all, don’t threaten me just because he’s friendly with me and not you. Second, dibs is a stupid, childish concept only still used by adults who think they can’t obtain something if they aren’t the only contender for it. And third, I’m not even competition for you, but if you always act like this, no wonder he’s not interested.”

Charlie blanched as Sawyer put a hand on the ginger’s shoulder, “Kyle..” Maybe that was a little harsher than it needed to be, but he was tired of Charlie acting like she was such a bad bitch and ignoring him until it was convenient for her not to do so. Still, he lamented with a sigh, “Sorry. I haven’t been in a great mood lately. I’m stressed out.” Charlie just nodded, watching him with a furrowed brow. Even if they weren’t friends (they were both aware of that), he did feel a little bad for going at her like that. He’d felt like his safe space was threatened, and he didn’t want that. The waiter returned several minutes later with their drinks. He held up a pen and a meal slip, “Do we know what we want?”

Sawyer ordered something off the make your own pasta section. Charlie settled on a lasagna and Kyle went with whatever the weekly special was. The young woman didn’t miss how much eye contact Kyle and the waiter were making. Neither did Sawyer, who was sitting on the other side of the redhead with a subdued smile on his face. “Coming right up,” The tall man winked at the ginger before collecting the menus and leaving to put their orders in. “So, are you guys like, friends now?” Sawyer couldn’t help but ask, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Kyle bit his lip and shrugged, “I wouldn’t call it that. I still don’t know his name and he doesn’t know mine. We’ve just talked a few times.”

“You seem pretty chummy for only talking a few times,” Charlie commented over the lip of her cup, but her tone wasn’t hostile anymore. Kyle rubbed the back of his neck, “Well.. look, I told Sawyer before. He just seems really familiar, like I’ve met him somewhere, but I can’t remember where. That’s why I want to figure out his name.” Charlie seemed to think about this for a minute, sipping her Pepsi absentmindedly.

When their food came out, their waiter had one plate on one hand, two balanced along his arm. He set each of them down easily, wiggling his eyebrows. Kyle rolled his eyes, but Sawyer and Charlie made impressed comments. Kyle spent most of his meal watching the guy move around the restaurant, aware that he probably looked like a massive weirdo and not caring in the slightest. This was the calmest he’d felt in like a week. His food was gone in no time, but he still idly chewed on the tines of his fork.

“I’ll cover dinner,” Sawyer said out of nowhere, already getting out his card. Charlie didn’t argue, but Kyle furrowed his brow, “You sure, man?” The spectacled young man nodded, “Don’t worry about it.” He smiled sweetly at Kyle, who smiled back, “Thanks.” The mystery waiter brought them their check, and as they were heading to the door, he brushed his fingers against Kyle’s arm, “Hey, wait.” The redhead stopped and turned to him, blushing faintly, “Yeah?”

“What’s your name?” The young man asked almost shyly, flashing Kyle a hopeful grin. The redhead cocked an eyebrow, half turning away and saying coyly, “Nice try, but you aren’t getting it that easily. Yours for mine?” The brunette blinked in surprise, laughing. His voice was soft as he replied, “Hmm, tempting. Can I think about it?” They were standing decently close, and Kyle didn’t realize he may have actually been leaning into the guy before someone else (a manager, he assumed) clapped their hands and said, “Alright, Romeo, you have other tables to bust. Let the nice kid go.” The waiter sighed dramatically, giving Kyle an ‘oh brother’ look before waving him off and heading back to the kitchen.

Kyle was almost afraid his legs would give out as he exited the restaurant. He climbed into the backseat of Sawyer’s Mazda with a dopey smile on his face. Charlie and Sawyer exchanged glances in the front, but they said nothing.

* * *

Kyle floated through the next few days. He still finished all his homework way early, and he made the weekly call to his mom. He told Stan about what he’d decided, about getting to know the waiter better and seeing who he got along with more. Although he also voiced that he had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t be Sawyer, because they didn’t seem to have many common interests. Still, he was giving it a chance. He’d also called Kenny to fill him in on what was going on. Kenny was more enthusiastic about it than Stan, which was amusing.

Kyle ate at Pastabilities whenever he could, with or without Charlie and Sawyer. He’d established a regular table for himself, even on days when he went in and his waiter wasn’t there. Stacy liked to tease him about how often she saw him. He’d been witness to name tags like Karen, Hue Mungus, Willy Wonka, and Becky, among others. He’d even tried to guess the guy’s real name once or twice, but nothing stuck. It was funny and playful, the back and forth they had going on. By the time a week had passed, he’d gone six times. He couldn’t justify going back there twice a day, and he’d already been there for lunch, but he really wanted to see the subject of his obsession.

He called in a delivery order, specifically asking for the employee with the weird name tags, if he was still there. Evidently, he was, because he was now standing in front of Kyle’s dorm room with a shit-eating grin on his face. He had a bag of food in one hand, the receipt in the other. Kyle had been rewriting notes for his history class and had a pen tucked behind his ear, red curls wet and framing his face because he’d just showered not too long ago. “Twice in one day?” The mystery waiter handed the bag to Kyle. The redhead took it, holding it against his chest with both arms, “I really like the food.”

“Mhm, sure,” The guy chuckled, watching Kyle bite his bottom lip. With the receipt signed and Kyle halfway back in his room, the waiter gave him a coy smile and cooed, “Seeya next time, carrot cake.” Kyle blushed deeply at that. He didn’t have to look at his name tag because he’d already seen it earlier. As the delivery guy headed back down the hall, he called, “Crab Cakes is a terrible name! You work with Italian food, not seafood!” A door to his left opened and Sawyer poked his head out, raising an eyebrow. He saw Kyle holding the bag with Pastabilities written in bold letters, smiling, “Order out?” Kyle’s cheeks flushed with color as he nodded, “Yeah. Sorry if I was loud.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Sawyer stepped into the hall and closed his door. He looked like he wanted to say something, so Kyle waited with his door ajar. “I already ate,” Sawyer started, messing with his glasses, “but can I come over for a minute?” The redhead smiled widely and nodded, “Of course. Come on.” He jerked his head for Sawyer to come in so he could close the door. The spectacled young man settled in Kyle’s desk chair, glancing around his room curiously. All the rooms were identical in layout and furniture, but Kyle had managed to decorate his a little for Halloween. He had some basic bat-shaped streamers up and a pumpkin light currently replacing his normal lamp.

The ginger set the takeout bag on his bed, sitting next to it and digging through to get out his dinner. Sawyer was quiet for a few minutes, then twiddled his thumbs together and took a deep breath, “Kyle, I.. need to talk to you about something.” Kyle paused, a bite of spaghetti half hanging out of his mouth. He slurped the noodles down and set his food aside for now, “Okay. What’s up?”

The shorter guy bit his lip, hunching his shoulders shyly, “Um.. I like you. I have for a while, and I think you like me, too. Which is why I’ve been inviting you out places and stuff.” Kyle drew in a slow breath, maintaining eye contact as he blushed deeply, “Oh.. Sawyer, I.. I think I like you? I’m not a hundred percent sure, but.. I don’t know, I think what I feel around you is attraction.” He hated that he couldn’t word that more certainly, but it was true. His feelings for Sawyer were confusing because they were so frail compared to what he felt for the mysterious name tag waiter. The young man smiled a little, leaning forward in his seat towards the bed, “You do?”

“Yeah,” Kyle said on instinct, leaning forward as well. Were they really going to kiss right here? The one time they’re in a situation Kyle is actually comfortable in, that was where Sawyer decided to make his move. It was as good a time as any, Kyle supposed. He briefly locked eyes with him, noticing Sawyer’s own gaze flick down to Kyle’s lips for a second. That was a yes. The redhead leaned forward as much as he could, and Sawyer met him in the middle. The kiss was soft and simple, no tongue, barely any movement. Kyle felt a bit hot, like he was blushing, but beyond that he felt… nothing. No drive to continue, no breathless realization that he was kissing a crush. Nothing. And he’d kissed plenty of people before, he knew what it was supposed to feel like.

Sawyer pulled back first, brow furrowed as if he were confused. “What?” Kyle asked, hating that his voice was completely even. The spectacled student in front of him slumped in his chair, “I.. I don’t understand. I thought..” He glanced to Kyle, biting his lip, “I thought I’d feel.. more. I-I’m sorry if that’s mean, I just.. I really thought I liked you.” Kyle blinked, then breathed a heavy sigh of relief, “Oh God, dude. Don’t worry, I.. Yeah. Same for me.” Sawyer looked down at the ground, rubbing the side of his head, “I don’t get it.”

“Maybe we just aren’t compatible,” Kyle suggested gently, “I mean, I don’t really like doing the things you and Charlie do. I’m not a social person.” Sawyer nodded slowly, a thoughtful expression on his face, “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. I just really wanted it to work.” Kyle reached for his dinner once more, “We can still be friends, right?” Sawyer smiled, nodding more firmly this time, “Yeah, of course. I’m.. glad we tried kissing, at least.” They both chuckled nervously. “Um.. I’m gonna head to bed,” Sawyer stood, prompting Kyle to walk him to the door. “Good night, Kyle,” He waved to him. The redhead smiled and waved back, “Good night.”

He was alone in his room once more. Well, that interaction answered a lot of questions, and made a huge decision easy for him. He felt bad for disappointing Sawyer, but he was glad they were on the same page. Especially because it meant he didn’t have to worry about hurting him anymore. There was still Charlie to worry about, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. He grabbed for his phone to text Stan and Kenny the news.

_Kyle: So, I kissed Sawyer._

_Stan: And????_

_Kyle: And nothing. We both felt nothing._

_Kenny: dude thats great i was totally rooting for you and the pasta guy_

Kyle rolled his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head, leaning back against the wall with his spaghetti in his lap.

_Stan: Have you gotten pasta guy’s name yet?_

_Kyle: No, but I think I’m getting close. One of us has to break soon and it won’t be me._

_Kenny: damn youve always been the stubborn type even with cartman_

That comment made Kyle pause. What did Kenny mean by that? Kyle was stubborn with everyone. What did that have to do with Cartman?

_Kyle: What’s that supposed to mean?_

_Stan: Only that you two were the stubbornest people we’d ever met_

_Kenny: and thats why you constantly fought because neither of you wanted to break first_

_Kyle: Break? What do you mean break?_

_Kenny: just sayin i had money on you two jumpin each others bones one day_

Kyle nearly spit out his bite of spaghetti, coughing and desperately grabbing for his water bottle to wash it all the way down. He wiped his mouth, feeling irritation creep up his spine that Kenny would say such a thing. He would _never_ have fallen for Cartman, not in a million years, not for a million dollars. The fact that Stan wasn’t contesting this made him even more angry.

_Kyle: Stan? You’re awfully quiet over there._

_Stan: Don’t be mad, dude. You gotta see where we’re coming from. You guys were always touching each other._

_Kyle: We were fighting, you dickwads!_

_Kenny: ever heard of angry sex_

_Kyle: GROSS! I’m going to bed. Fuck you both._

The ginger put his phone on silent and rolled over, glaring at nothing as he pulled the blankets over his head. There was no way they actually thought he’d ever be attracted to Eric Cartman, right? That was so ridiculous and ludicrous and outrageous! But then why was he blushing so hard? Yeah, he was annoyed and felt slightly disrespected, but there was something familiar about this denial in his gut. Would he really have… _liked_ Cartman if he hadn’t moved away? Had he already started to before that?

These questions were hurting his brain. He huffed, burying his face in his pillow and squeezing his eyes shut. He wasn’t going to think about this anymore. He was going to get a restful sleep and be up fresh and ready for class tomorrow. And then he was going to go see about a certain waiter.


	4. Careful, Children, That's a Lot of Sodium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I think about the word yeetus too much, I start laughing for no reason. By the way, uh, Kyle has some internal monologue later about how “this guy better have a name akin to a prince” and-
> 
> *ahem* Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid? Yeah. That might be the most subtle Disney reference you’ll ever read. Ariel is also a ginger, too. That’s an au waiting to happen, my dudes.
> 
> ALSO, trying to think of real-world explanations for some of the shit that goes on in this show physically hurt my brain.

Kyle walked into his preferred café with a yawn, holding his laptop and notebook under one arm with a pencil stuck behind his ear. “Hey, Kyle!” Ryan greeted him from behind the register. The redhead waved, smiling sleepily as he sat down at the counter. He didn’t even have to ask for his coffee, it was just suddenly there. Ryan was good at his job. “You want a muffin today?” The barista asked. Kyle hummed, sipping his caffeine, “a croissant, actually. Please.” Ryan finger gunned at him.

Kyle had been going there almost every morning since classes started. He liked it more than Starbucks because there were less people, so it was quieter. Also, the coffee was better, in his opinion. It was Saturday, do there were no classes today, but he had a worksheet he needed to fill out for Monday. Mikah’s blared music was consistent and he didn’t feel like waiting for him and Charlie to get through their daily screaming match, so he preemptively snuck past them to go to the café.

“Whatcha workin’ on?” Ryan asked, leaning against the counter to look over the espresso machine. Kyle chuckled and held up his notebook, “classification matrix for simple invertebrates.” Ryan just blinked at him, then shook his head, “You’re taking some weird electives.”

“It’s general biology,” Kyle laughed, “it’s a core class.” Ryan tsk’d under his breath, “I haven’t taken it yet, then.” Kyle just hummed, focused on copying down notes and citations as the barista moved off to help other customers. The redhead slightly bobbed his head to the music playing quietly in the background. It was the best of the early 2000’s hits or something. There was heavy middle school nostalgia in the playlist. That was another reason he liked this café better than Starbucks; they played music he actually knew and liked. When Ryan came back around, Kyle raised his head to ask, “Hey, Ryan? Are you guys hiring?” The barista pursed his lips, shrugging, “I don’t know. I don’t think so, but I can ask for you.” Kyle nodded, smiling widely, “That’d be awesome. I really need to get a job soon.” Ryan chuckled, “Sure. No problem.”

As Kyle was heading back out to his truck, he paused and looked to the bookstore he usually studied at. He dropped his hand from the car door, heading over to look in the windows. Seeing the owner, he stepped inside and greeted him, “Hello! Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt your work, but I was wondering if you were looking to hire some help?” The storekeeper looked surprised. He had a cart with boxes of new books that he was putting out on the shelves. “You want to work here?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Kyle nodded. “Hmm,” The man considered him a moment, then turned back to putting books away, “I assume you have a resume you can bring me.”

“I do, yes, sir,” Kyle grinned. The man smiled back, “Well, bring it in and we’ll see.” Kyle thanked him for the consideration and nearly skipped back outside. The sun was well in the sky by now. Back at his dorm, the redhead noticed Charlie and Sawyer getting into Charlie’s beaten up hatchback. He waved to them as he got out of his truck. “Hey, Kyle,” Sawyer smiled, “we’re headed to go pick pumpkins. You want to come with?” The ginger beamed, “Like from a patch? Hell yeah, let me put my laptop upstairs.” He went as fast as he could to be back down soon enough. They piled in and Charlie pulled out of the parking lot. “Hopefully the good ones aren’t all taken,” She sighed, “Halloween’s only ten days away.”

Sawyer shook his head, adjusting his coat collar, “They’ve gotta have some left.” It’d been a long time since Kyle picked pumpkins from a pumpkin patch and he was excited, smiling as he watched out the window. It took them half an hour to reach the place, somewhere rural that reminded him of Tegridy Farms. The thought was amusing. Sawyer was quick to pick one, but Charlie and Kyle were looking around with keen eyes. Charlie was looking for the roundest, fattest pumpkin she could find, but Kyle had a specific detail in mind. Growing up, he’d always ended up with the deformed pumpkin, either because that’s all that was left, or he’d have to trade with Ike if he wanted his better pumpkin. The guys gave him shit for it.

He finally settled on a pumpkin with what almost looked like a gash on one side, where the gourd had collapsed on itself while growing. “Why that one?” Charlie raised an eyebrow. Kyle shrugged, “I like this one.” With the pumpkins procured, they headed back to campus. Charlie went straight up to her room, but Sawyer hesitated. Kyle tilted his head curiously as he looked back at him, “What’s up?”

“I think I’m gonna take a walk to the library and see if I can find something for my history project,” Sawyer said definitively, “you wanna come?” Kyle smiled, nodding, “Yeah, but let’s not take these with us.” He held up his pumpkin teasingly. The spectacled young man rolled his eyes and chuckled as they made to put the gourds away. The library was only a few minutes’ walk away and they were there soon enough. Kyle had only been there a few times, to check out books his professors required for certain assignments. It was a huge building with a really nice sitting area. He still preferred the simplicity of the bookstore, though.

Sawyer immediately made for the history book section, and the redhead followed because he didn’t have anything he was there for. There were a few students hanging around, but it was late and the place was mostly empty. There happened to be a pair sitting at one of the studying tables in the biology section, which was near them. They were whispering to each other. Kyle wasn’t paying attention until the guy ‘psst’ at him from around the corner. The ginger blinked, glancing behind himself and then pointed to his own chest in question. Sawyer raised an eyebrow as the guy nodded, gesturing for them to come over. The two friends exchanged looks before walking to the end of the aisle.

The beckoner and his female companion looked up at them as they approached. “Is that the South Parks Cows on your sweatshirt?” The young woman asked, pointing to Kyle. He glanced down at the light green hoodie he’d been wearing, the Cows logo slapped in the middle. “Yeah,” He confirmed, frowning when she and her friend scoffed and snickered. “Are you from there?” The guy asked. Kyle narrowed his eyes, “Yeah, I am.”

“Dude, that sucks,” The guy snickered more. Kyle was bewildered, blinking rapidly, “Huh?” The female tsk’d and crossed her legs, giving him a smirk, “Must be hard in the city, so far away from home.” Sawyer looked like he was getting irritated, grabbing Kyle’s arm and trying to turn him away, “Come on, Kyle, let’s just go.” The ginger stopped him, “Hold on, are you really trying to bully me right now?” He laughed incredulously, “You realize South Park is like an hour’s drive from here, right?” The male student scoffed, frowning in irritation, “That means nothing. You’re still out of your element. Poor little Cow, must be hard to stray from the herd.”

Kyle didn’t know what to say at first. The thing was, this wasn’t affecting him at all. These guys sounded stupid as hell to him, he’d dealt with _way_ worse teasing his entire life. It was almost like Cartman had prepared him for this moment, which was a weird and backwards idea, but it did bring something else to mind. He gave a little chuckle, putting his hands in his pockets and standing just as tall and proud as always, “Hey, you guys remember when that cult was exposed for attempting to summon Cthulhu?” The bullies just stared at him for a second, unsure where this was going. They exchanged looks, then the woman narrowed her eyes and said, “Yeah. Why?”

“And that chili cook-off where somebody claimed their parents were murdered and turned into chili?”

They both nodded. Kyle counted on his fingers as he went on, “The Crack Baby Athletic Association, the attempted revamp of the Nazi party, that weird AIDS thing where everybody decided it was a good idea to inject themselves with thousands of dollars, that time Civil War reenactors almost started another Civil War-“

The guy cut him off, “Yeah, we get it, all shit we’ve seen on the news. What of it?” Kyle pursed his lips a moment, then his face split into an almost evil grin and he shrugged, “The kid who orchestrated all that shit bullied me for most of my childhood. You guys are fucking lame in comparison, that’s all I’m saying.” He got blank stares. Even Sawyer was looking at him like he’d just confessed to murdering a small child. Kyle didn’t care. He gestured for Sawyer to come with him as he walked off, relishing the silence from the other two.

Sawyer followed without a word, clutching his books to his chest. Out on the sidewalk, it was snowing again. The spectacled student pushed his glasses up his face and cleared his throat, drawing the redhead’s attention, “Kyle… is what you said back there true?” Kyle shrugged, nodding, “Yeah.” Sawyer shook his head in disbelief, staring at the concrete under their feet. “I’m sorry that happened to you,” He mumbled, “that guy must’ve been a real asshole.” The ginger blinked, frowning, “Oh. I mean, yeah, he was, but.. I don’t know, we were sort of friends. I bullied him back.”

“What?” Sawyer looked wildly confused, staring up at Kyle with great concern. Kyle rubbed the back of his head, shrugging, “It was.. normal, for us. He was a dick, sure, but honestly so were the rest of us. And we were just kids.” Sawyer narrowed his eyes skeptically, “Nobody from my childhood ever tried to revamp the Nazi party.” Kyle couldn’t really argue with that. He sucked in a breath through his teeth, “Well.. yeah, I’d hope not. I mean, he mainly did that to fuck with me. Again, we were kids, we didn’t know any better.” He couldn’t believe he was defending Cartman, especially because you really couldn’t defend that type of behavior. Somebody not from South Park wouldn’t get that it was _Cartman_ and he wasn’t supposed to be taken seriously.

Sawyer obviously didn’t know what to say. They walked in silence for a while before he asked, “What did he bully you for?” Kyle made a face as he tried to say as nonchalantly as possible, “Uh, mostly for being Jewish. And a ginger. But bullying’s a strong word, I really just said that to get my point across to those idiots back there.” The look his friend had was somewhere between horrified and disbelieving, “Kyle, that’s not… That’s serious, how are you not more bothered by that?” The redhead struggled to find an answer, “I don’t know. I’m just not.”

Maybe his boasting wasn’t such a good idea, because now Sawyer was staring ahead of them with an unreadable expression on his face. What did it say about Kyle that he wasn’t bothered by those things? That didn’t change how Sawyer saw him too much, did it? When they reached their dorm, the shorter man paused to say, “Well, I’m glad it doesn’t bother you now, I guess. Good night, Kyle.” The ginger stood in front of his door with a lame frown on his face, watching Sawyer disappear into his room, “Yeah.. Good night..”

* * *

After the previous night’s bummer library trip, Kyle needed a pick-me-up. The mystery waiter’s Jeep was in the parking lot, which was the fullest Kyle had ever seen it. There was an open spot next to the Jeep, so he pulled in, telling himself it was because the parking spots were scarce. He headed inside and internally sighed with relief that his high-top spot hadn’t been taken. It was noisier than usual, with more people taking up spaces. There even seemed to be a party going on the other side of the room. The waiters and waitresses were hurrying around, extra busy with the apparent influx of customers. Kyle didn’t see Stacy among them, but he did see the waiter he was there for.

Mr Name Tag was helping a group of older ladies at a table adjacent to his. Kyle shifted in his seat, able to hear most of their conversation if he listened hard enough. “I’ll take care of it, Ma’am, don’t worry,” The tall young man smiled widely, jotting something down on his meal slip. “Such a nice boy,” The woman closest to him put a hand on his arm, “So handsome, too.” Kyle could see all of them were batting their eyelashes and giving him coy looks. And he was playing along, chuckling and ducking his head as if shy, “You’re too kind, really.” She retracted her hand, slowly and flirtatiously. Kyle was highly amused, until he heard her say, “Well, thank you, Yeetus.”

Kyle barked a laugh, putting both his hands over his mouth to stifle the sound, but not before the whole table _and_ the waiter turned to look at him. He swiftly busied himself with his phone to seem like he was laughing at something on the screen. After a quick farewell to the ladies, Yeetus was standing at Kyle’s table with a huge smirk on his face, “You think my name is funny, huh, Copper Head?”

“That is _NOT_ your name,” Kyle’s shoulders were shaking with his attempt to hold in his laughter, “God, that’s the best one yet.” The waiter chuckled, leaning on the table and resting his head on his hand, “You’re cute when you laugh that hard.” The ginger blushed, clearing his throat and glancing away briefly. Then he leaned on the table, too, their faces barely a foot apart as he asked, “When are you gonna tell me your _real_ name?” The brunette cocked an eyebrow, his smirk fading into a playful smile, “You really wanna know it that badly?” Kyle nodded perhaps a bit too eagerly.

“Tell you what, Scarlet Fever,” The waiter flipped his pen between his fingers, maintaining eye contact with Kyle as he spoke quietly between them, “come back in for dinner tomorrow and I’ll have a hint for you. Deal?” Kyle nodded again, but the movement was subtle as he gravitated closer to the taller man. He was vaguely aware that the waiter’s index and middle finger were barely touching under his chin, all noises of the restaurant fading to the back of his mind as his eyelids drooped and his heart pounded against his ribcage. _This _was what a kiss was supposed to feel like; this moment seemed too good to be true. And then somebody clapped the guy on the back and said very sarcastically, “We don’t have time for you to be schmoozing, Yeetus, there’s a table of eight waiting on their orders.”

Kyle burst into another fit of laughter, leaning back in his seat. His cheeks were very red, and he was a little embarrassed that he almost just kissed this guy in the middle of the restaurant, but this all sounded so dumb that it didn’t matter. The waiter straightened up and waved the other person off, grumbling something profane under his breath. He also looked pretty flustered, flushed from his hairline all the way down his neck. He sighed dramatically, giving Kyle an amused, crooked smile, “I’ll get you a menu.” Kyle snickered, “Okay, Yeetus.”

The waiter stuck his tongue out as he moved off. The ginger watched him, chin rested on his hand. He sighed, taking his phone out to text Stan and Kenny.

_Kyle: I almost kissed pasta guy._

_Kenny: damn you work fast_

_Stan: Did you get his name??_

Kyle bit his lip, already knowing Stan’s response before he got it.

_Kyle: Not exactly_

_Stan: Dude, what the hell? You must really like this guy_

_Kenny: i wanna know what he looks like he must be tasty_

_Kyle: Don’t say it like that, Kenny, you always make it weird._

The redhead wrinkled his nose, almost offended. “What’s that look for?” His waiter returned, an amused smile on his face. He set a glass of water and a menu down in front of Kyle, who blushed lightly and shook his head, “Nothing. Just my friends being idiots.”

“Your friends who usually come in here with you?”

“Ah, no,” Kyle rubbed his neck, sipping the water, “different friends.” The tall young man hummed, leaving to check on other tables. Kyle couldn’t even focus on picking a lunch. He was too occupied with watching this guy walk around the restaurant. Kenny’s comment might have directed his train of thought, though. Before, what he’d really been attracted to was the odd sense of familiarity and warm personality the waiter had. Thinking about what Kenny said, the ginger might have been looking at him in a slightly different way now.

He looked like he _could_ be well sculpted, if he wanted to be, but there was probably some amount of laziness and bad eating habits preventing that. Nevertheless, his legs and arms were thick, his chest wide. He had round cheeks and a thick neck; and his hands were huge. Really, Kyle could sum up his figure as ‘tall and stocky’ and that would be accurate. Plus, from this angle, he had a great view of his ass. He didn’t realize he was half leaning out of his seat until he noticed the twist in the waiter’s waist, and Kyle’s eyes flicked up to see him staring back over his shoulder with a wicked grin. The redhead puffed out his cheeks in embarrassment, sinking in his seat and staring a hole through the table.

It was several minutes later when the waiter finally came back around to him, “You know what you want, Gingersnap?” His voice was entirely too suggestive to be talking about dinner. On the inside, Kyle felt like completely retreating into his jacket and hiding from everything. On the outside, however, he was collected. His eyebrow quirk was almost challenging as he slid the menu back over to the brunette and licked his lips, “I don’t think you’re on here.” The shocked and embarrassed expression his words elicited on was totally worth it. The waiter blushed fiercely, chuckling nervously and rubbing the side of his neck, “Hm.. Second choice, then?” Kyle smirked, batting his eyelashes, “Surprise me.”

“You got it, Freckles,” The young man practically purred back at him. Kyle waited until he was out of sight before taking a _deep_ breath and deflating in his chair. He had to congratulate himself on acting so smooth, because his entire body was shaking. It had been a while since he was interested in someone, but he didn’t remember flirting being this nerve wracking. Then again, he’d never done it with a guy before; _and_ he’d never felt this strongly for someone before even knowing their name.

That reminded him of the deal he’d agreed to. What kind of hint would he get? He was almost ashamed how excited he was for it. _With all the build up, this guy better have a name akin to a prince or some shit_, Kyle thought to himself. He watched the cars pass by out the window. He hadn’t talked to Sawyer since last night, and he hoped the exchange he’d had with those other students didn’t scare him out of being Kyle’s friend. He also hoped Sawyer understood that he didn’t condone those things he mentioned, by any means. Yeah, he tolerated them from Cartman, but he didn’t _agree_ with them. Maybe he shouldn’t talk about his hometown much from now on. At least not that aspect.

He turned back to the restaurant as movement caught his eye. The waiter had returned, setting a bowl of some light-colored pasta in front of him. Kyle’s eyebrow twitched, “What’s this?”

“Taste it first,” The brunette requested, a smug smile on his face. Kyle picked up his fork, taking a decent bite and humming at the taste. He blinked, “Wow. It’s really good.” The waiter nodded proudly, “It’s fettucine alfredo, but the way I order it, with like six different kinds of cheese.” The ginger laughed lightly, taking another bite and gesturing to the food with his fork, “So this is a heart attack waiting to happen.” He got a shrug in response, “Does it taste like a heart attack?” Kyle couldn’t help the smile he gave. The guy looked so pleased and happy that the redhead liked it. He chuckled, “Good pick, dude.”

The waiter thumbed his nose smugly, “Hey, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s food.” Kyle wasn’t sure what made him ask, “Are you only a critic or do you play chef, too?” The tall young man blushed faintly as he bit his lip, “I cook a little. Not for anybody but myself, and I’m is biased as hell, but I think I’m pretty good.” Kyle laughed, his cheeks hurting from how wide he was grinning, “Maybe I could give you my opinion some time.” The brunette’s eyes lit up, but he tried his best to remain composed as he shrugged, “Maybe.” When he moved on to a different table, Kyle nearly swooned.

* * *

Sawyer had asked Kyle to help him move his oceanography project. It was some model of a food web or something that was way too complicated for Kyle to even try to understand. Currently, it was in pieces because Sawyer needed to move it to his classroom so it would be ready to present the next day. They drove this time, so they didn’t have to lug boxes around on foot. Sawyer had the trunk popped. Kyle was already holding two boxes marked ‘fragile’ and ‘this end up’ in red Sharpie. Once they were loaded with everything, the spectacled young man slammed the trunk closed and led the way into science building D.

Sense the encounter at the library two days prior, Kyle had noticed Sawyer was talking to him less. It wasn’t too obvious, but his responses and interactions were less enthusiastic, almost like he was slightly closing himself off. Kyle had been worried about this exact thing. As they entered the correct classroom, Sawyer directed him to set the boxes on the table at the back. Kyle watched him open each box and lightly sift through to make sure nothing was damaged. The redhead leaned against one of the desks, folding his arm over his chest as he cleared his throat, “Hey, Sawyer?”

“Hmm?” Sawyer didn’t even look up at him, still carefully going through the boxes. Kyle pursed his lips, “Do we need to talk about what happened at the library?” The other man paused. From his profile angle, Kyle could see his eyes focused on nothing, the gears in his head working to produce an answer. He finally sighed, turning to face Kyle, “Maybe..” That wasn’t a promising response. The ginger furrowed his brow, “Well.. what’s on your mind?”

Sawyer bit his lip, looking off to the side and wringing his hands together as he tried to think of how to say what he was thinking. He cleared his throat, “It’s just.. once you learn something about someone, that knowledge doesn’t go away. And I keep thinking about the fact that none of what you explained to me bothered you.” He had an almost pained expression on his face. Kyle dropped his arms by his side, shifting his stance a little, “It’s not that it _doesn’t_ bother me. I just grew up with stuff like that. It was normal. I don’t _agree_ with any of it. Obviously, those things are shitty and wrong. But..”

“See, it’s the ‘but’ that stands out me,” Sawyer made a vague gesture as if towards the word. Kyle pursed his lips, glancing down at the ground. “I get why you didn’t react to that horror movie we watched now,” The shorter man continued, “because you’ve apparently seen way worse things in real life. I just can’t fathom how you don’t think they’re serious.” Kyle shook his head, holding his hands up in defense, “I do think they’re serious! But.. what’s serious out here and what’s serious in South Park are two totally different scales. Back home, a foreign restaurant building a wall through the middle of town is a mild inconvenience.”

Sawyer looked bewildered for a second, then he rubbed his temples and briefly shook his head, “I’m sorry, I just.. I can’t understand. I don’t think I want to, honestly. We have different ideas about what’s serious and what’s not, that’s all.” Kyle hunched his shoulder guiltily, “I’m sorry.” Sawyer waved his wrist dismissively, storing the boxes on one end of the table for now, “We should get back. It’s almost dinner time and Charlie wants to go to Pastabilities again.” He glanced at the redhead out of the corner of his eye, “I assume you’ll want to come with?”

Kyle almost felt like that was an accusation. He opened his mouth to answer, closed it again, then coughed before saying, “I mean, I already had plans to go there, so of course I’d love to tag along with you guys.” Sawyer nodded, gesturing for Kyle to follow him back out to his car. They headed back to the dorm, texting Charlie to let her know they were waiting outside. She wasted no time in sprinting down the stairs and hopping into the back of the car.

Kyle felt an irrational bout of butterflies in his stomach. He’d been trying not to wonder too much about what his hint would be because the anticipation was killing him. His leg was bouncing restlessly in the passenger seat of Sawyer’s Mazda. They parked near the back of the lot, Kyle doing his best not to rush to the entrance. He kept pace with Charlie and Sawyer, staring at their shoes to distract himself. He was going to head straight to the high-top tables again, but Sawyer wanted a booth seat. The ginger didn’t want to be too obvious about his intentions, so he agreed and slid in beside him. This was Stacy’s section, anyway, which wasn’t a step down. He saw her start to head towards them when his waiter burst out of the swinging kitchen door and blocked her path. She looked startled for a moment, then just laughed and rolled her eyes.

The mystery waiter was waved off as Stacy went to help a different table. Kyle bit his lip, cheeks pink as the guy turned and made eye contact with him. He strode over with a wide grin, taking a pen out form behind his ear. “Welcome, guys,” He greeted the table, then specifically smiled at Kyle, “Almost thought you wouldn’t show, Chicken Pox.” The ginger ducked his head shyly, more embarrassed about their flirting now that Charlie and Sawyer were there to witness it. “You better have honored our deal,” Kyle raised an eyebrow, mouth quirked in a cheeky smile. The waiter nodded, gesturing to his name tag like it was a prized trophy. Kyle squinted at it for a moment, at a loss for words, “… Namtrac? What kind of hint is that?”

“The easiest one I could give you without outright saying it,” The brunette chuckled, “you’re smart, you’ll get it.” Kyle couldn’t help feeling a little irked. He’d been hoping for something he could easily decipher. A rhyme, a phrase, maybe a celebrity last name whose first name he shared; anything but this vague wordplay. He clucked his tongue, accepting his menu with an indignant sniff, “I feel cheated.” The waiter laughed, “Sorry to disappoint. It’s easier than you’re thinking, I promise.” Kyle hummed, looking over the menu and playfully ignoring him. Sawyer and Charlie were exchanging glances, until Charlie decided to ask, “So, your name tag today is a hint to your real name?”

The waiter nodded, smiling, “Yep. The only one you’re getting, too.” He winked to Kyle as he went to get their drinks. Sawyer turned to his ginger friend, “How did you get him to give you a hint?” Kyle blushed lightly, “Um.. I mean, it wasn’t that hard. I still haven’t given him my name yet.” Charlie tsk’d, folding her arms over her chest and slouching in the booth, “Beat him at his own game, of course. Why didn’t I think of that?” Kyle chuckled and brushed his fingers back through his hair.

He tried to think what Namtrac could possibly mean, all through ordering their meal and then halfway into it. The waiter came back to check on them, smiling at Kyle, “Figure it out yet?”

“No,” Kyle stuck his tongue out at him. Stacy came up beside the guy and nudged his shoulder, “Just wanted to say you’re welcome for letting you bus my table. Hi, Kyle.” She waved at him. Her intentions were innocent enough, but both Kyle and the waiter blanched at her words. “Wait, Kyle?” The brunette sounded incredulous, like there was no possible way that could be his name. The ginger groaned and turned his head away, “Stacy..!” She put a hand up to her mouth in apology, “Sorry! I didn’t know.”

The waiter was staring at him. Kyle could tell because he was watching his reflection in the window. The expression on his face was confused. His brow was furrowed, eyes narrowed and intense like he was working something out in his head. Kyle dropped his gaze to the name tag again and jolted in his seat. He sat straight up, leaning over Sawyer to quint at the reflection. “Hey,” Sawyer grunted in complaint. Not Namtrac.

namtraC.

“_Cartman?_!” Kyle jumped out of his seat, facing the mystery waiter like he’d just made a wild discovery. “Oh my fucking God,” The brunette almost wheezed. They maintained eye contact for a moment. The familiarity suddenly made sense and Kyle’s loneliness crashed to the forefront of his mind. It pushed him to lurch forward, yanking Cartman into a tight hug as he laughed almost hysterically. Cartman oof’d in response, carefully setting his hands on Kyle’s back, “Dude, what the hell? What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here, what are you doing here?” Kyle pulled back, grinning up at him excitedly. Cartman laughed incredulously, “Uh, I live here.” Kyle gawked, “Are you kidding me? You’ve been an hour’s drive away this entire time? Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Cartman tilted his head, furrowing his brow. He looked confused and surprised that Kyle was happy to see him, “Because I didn’t think anybody cared.” The ginger shook his head furiously, “Dude, it took us so long to figure out how to even sit at the lunch table without you there. Kenny refused to look at a joint for three months.”

“Really..?” Cartman blinked, looking down at nothing as he thought about that. By now, their outburst had drawn a few eyes. Charlie and Sawyer were staring at Kyle like he was something out of science fiction. Then Cartman shook himself and grabbed a napkin off the table, scribbling something down before handing it to Kyle, “Look, I still have to finish my shift, but I’m off the day after tomorrow. Maybe we could meet up and talk?” Kyle took the napkin, tracing his eyes over the written phone number. He nodded, slowly sitting back down and watching Cartman back away. He glanced over his shoulder at Kyle even as he walked back to the kitchen. “Okay,” Charlie put her hands flat on the table, “what just happened?”

Kyle folded the napkin in half, looking off at nothing as he thought about her question. What _did_ just happen? The mysterious name tag writer Kyle had been basically stalking the past month was Eric Cartman. How was he going to explain this to Kenny and Stan? This was going to be a long forty-eight hours.


	5. Oh Hi, Mark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While Kyle’s trying to waste time during the day, he jerks off. It ends at a horizontal line, so skip to that if you don’t want to read it!
> 
> You guys, we’re not even halfway through this story. I’m anticipating anywhere between 10 and 12 chapters in this one. But we’ll see, because there’s some things I want to happen that might extend it even further (that’s what she said *cough*). Anyway, enjoy the fluff!

The drive home had been tense because Charlie kept complaining that of course Kyle would already know the waiter she’d been trying to woo for months. Sawyer looked disgruntled from her bitching, hunched over his steering wheel with a stony frown. Kyle seemed to be the only one left in a good mood. Finally, somebody he knew and could hang out with without worrying about making a bad impression. Finally, somebody he could talk to about missing the guys back home. He saw this as an absolute win!

He wanted to have his thoughts together before he told Kenny and Stan; which was why we waited a whole fifteen minutes after getting home before texting them for a three-way phone call. Stan was trying to be quiet because Wendy was studying in the next room, “What’s up, dude?”

“I hope it’s pasta guy news,” Kenny sounded like he was probably on his roof. The wind was faint but present. “It is pasta guy news,” Kyle confirmed, sounding way too pleased, “I know who he is.” Stan seemed to shift and close a door as he asked, “You got his name?” Kyle waited a few beats (for dramatic effect), then declared, “It’s Cartman!” There was silence on the other end, then Kenny burst out laughing so loudly he had to hold the phone away from his face. Stan laughed, too, but it was weak and almost disbelieving, “I.. are you serious?” Kyle grinned and nodded before remembering they couldn’t see him, “Yeah, dude. It’s fucking Cartman. I almost can’t believe I didn’t realize sooner, but he looks totally different.”

Kenny was still laughing, but Stan was quiet. “You sound…” Stan struggled to express his thoughts, “really excited. I would’ve expected you to be… upset?” Kyle furrowed his brow, frowning, “Upset? Why? This is fucking great, dude, now I have somebody to hang out with that I _know_.” Kenny brought himself under enough control to say, “Yeah, that’s cool, but this is still the guy you’ve been hardcore flirting with for the past month. Hate to say I told you so!” He faded back into hysterical laughter. The only sound from their phones was Kenny’s wheezing until Stan spoke up, “Uh.. Kyle? You good?”

“Oh no..” Kyle’s voice was almost inaudible, “Oh, you’re right.. Oh my God..!” He grabbed a fistful of his own red hair, squeezing his eyes shut and banging his head on his desk. “Hey, it’s not that bad,” Stan tried to say, but he couldn’t follow it up with a reason. Kenny, however, stopped laughing. He almost sound offended as he asked, “You’re not gonna, like.. ghost him now, are you?” Kyle’s eyes snapped open. He left his forehead pressed to his desk, glancing over at his phone, “Well, no, I can’t do that. I still want to know what he’s been up to.. we’re still friends! I think?”

“You were working on more than friends before this,” Kenny reminded him, “don’t go back on that just because you know who he is now. And don’t be stubborn and claim you don’t like him anymore just because I was right!” Kyle lifted his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, “Kenny-“

“Don’t ‘Kenny’ me,” The blonde’s voice was sharp and left no room for argument, “I know you, Kyle. Stan, back me up here.” His best friend stumbled over his words as he put in, “w-well, I don’t know, I mean knowing somebody’s history does change the way you see them.” Kenny made a disgusted sound, “Yeah, sure, but people can change. It’s been four years since we’ve seen Cartman. Besides, he was able to woo Kyle without even giving him his name. Doesn’t that count for something?” Kyle blushed furiously, glaring at Kenny’s icon on his phone screen. Despite his irritation, however, he couldn’t argue with that. Sure, knowing Cartman was the one he’d been making bedroom eyes at made him feel a little weird…

“Ugh, I almost kissed him yesterday,” Kyle groaned, rubbing his hand over his face. Stan stifled a gagging noise, “Gross, dude.” Kenny’s mom voice was back as he scolded, “That’s not gross. He’s obviously attracted to him, what’s wrong with that?” Stan just sighed. Kyle imagined him shaking his head. “Why am I the only one under scrutiny, here?” The ginger narrowed his eyes, “what if Cartman decides he’s no longer attracted to me because it’s me? You know, the ginger Jew?”

“He won’t,” Kenny stated without hesitation, “trust me, he won’t.” Stan said something else, but Kyle wasn’t listening. He was staring out his window, imagining all the moments he’d had with this waiter guy over the past month. Flirting at the restaurant, the run in at Walmart, ordering takeout. In hindsight, it should’ve been obvious to him that it was Cartman, between the dumbass name tags and all the ginger jokes. _But he wasn’t making fun of me_, he thought to himself, _he was giving me pet names_. “Kyle?” Stan and Kenny both said his name at the same time. The redhead jumped in his desk chair, taking a breath, “I-.. I still like him..” Stan groaned but Kenny said, “Good. Just don’t freak yourself out over it, okay? There’s nothing wrong with it, _Stan_.”

The raven-haired boy sniffed on his end of the call, offended, “Hey, excuse me for being the careful one.” Kyle cut in to ask, “But what am I supposed to do about it? How do I talk to him now?” Kenny tossed something in the distance, “It’s just Cartman, dude. You don’t have to talk to him any differently than you were before.” The redhead glanced to his wallet where the napkin with Cartman’s phone number was safely tucked away. He bit his lip, “He gave me his number. Said he’s off the day after tomorrow and we can meet somewhere to talk.”

“He gave you the control,” Stan sounded amazed. Kyle furrowed his brow, “Huh?” Stan sighed heavily, “It’s.. it’s a thing people do, when exchanging info with someone they like. He gave you his number, but you didn’t give him yours, right?” Kyle mumbled under his breath, “I didn’t really get a chance to.”

“He’s letting you decide if you actually contact each other or not,” Kenny sounded like he’d just realized it, “by giving you his info but not asking for yours, he left it up to you.” Kyle blushed, rolling his eyes, “That’s dumb.” Stan scoffed, “But it works. That way, if the person never messages you, you know they didn’t want to in the first place. Beats sending the first message and then being ghosted.” Chewing his bottom lip, Kyle swiveled around in his chair, “Cartman thinks I wouldn’t want to contact him?” That did line up with what he said at the restaurant; that he thought nobody cared where he went when he moved. “He seemed surprised that I was happy it was him,” Kyle mused aloud, “and when I told him it was weird having him gone.”

Kenny made a thoughtful noise, clicking what sounded like his switchblade, “I mean, he was sort of distant towards the end. Even before he told us he was moving.” Stan clucked his tongue, saying sarcastically, “Can’t imagine why he’d think we wouldn’t want him around, with how much he ragged on us. Especially Kyle.” The ginger in question squinted his eyes, “What? What are you implying, that we _didn’t_ want him around?” Kenny snapped, “I wanted him around.” Kyle had to agree, “Yeah, what the hell, Stan?”

“I’m not his biggest fan, okay?” Stan defended himself, “and it’s sort of amazing to me that you’re defending him now, Kyle. But I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised.” Kyle bristled, sitting up in his chair and quirking an eyebrow as he challenged, “What’s that supposed to mean?” Stan backtracked a little as he said, “Hey, I’m not insulting you. I’m just saying, you had to be in love with the guy to put up with all his bullshit.” Kyle felt his heart drop like a stone, then immediately jump back up to his throat as he sputtered, “I-I was _not_ in love with Cartman.” Kenny tsk’d, “Could’ve fooled us. Which again, isn’t a bad thing.” Kyle didn’t know what else to say, face a deep crimson as he glared at the wall. “Kyle, we’re your friends,” He heard Kenny say, “we want you to be happy, but you gotta let yourself, dude.” Stan, much as he’d been speaking mostly against it, confirmed Kenny’s point, “Yeah. Sometimes you let your pride get in the way of stuff. I know I’m the one saying maybe be cautious, but.. if you like him, you like him.”

Kyle sighed heavily, sinking low in his chair, “Yeah..” He glanced to his wallet again, biting his thumb nail, “So.. when do I text him?” Stan and Kenny both laughed as Kenny said, “Ain’t that the million-dollar question? Whenever you want, man.” Looking at his phone revealed it was almost eight pm. Kyle pursed his lips, “Okay.. um, I’ll let you know how it goes?”

“Dude, give him my number!” Kenny’s grin was obvious through the speaker. Kyle chuckled, rolling his eyes, “Alright.” They bid each other good night and Kyle hung up. He spun idly in his chair for a while, hands behind his head and legs moving restlessly. He turned his head to his desk, then grabbed for his wallet and took out the napkin. Copying the number into his contact list, he opened a new text. What was he supposed to say? He shook himself before sending an easy opener.

_Hey. It’s Kyle._

He set his phone face down on his desk, staring at it like it was a loose, wild animal. After several minutes, he got nothing. Sitting was making him anxious, so Kyle stood and paced around his room. It was almost twenty minutes later before his phone buzzed and he practically dove to grab it.

_Hey sorry, just got off work._

He shouldn’t have been this nervous. Kyle’s heart was pounding as he sat down on his bed, leaning against the wall and typing back with both thumbs.

_It’s cool. How’d the rest of your shift go?_

He was going to chew off his own fingers at this rate.

_Good. I like my job._

_That’s good._

This was all very polite, but Kyle hated it. He wanted to get straight to the point, he just wasn’t sure how to word it. Thankfully, Cartman was thinking the same thing.

_You down to meet up on Sunday?_

Kyle didn’t hesitate to answer.

_Yes. Where?_

_Campus library? I’m in the north dorms._

_Wait, you’re on campus?_

Kyle stared at their conversation. This entire time, Cartman had been within walking distance. For some reason, that made his heart beat faster.

_Yeah. Second year here._

Kyle felt like laughing and crying at the same time. How had they not run into each other? Although, to be fair, he didn’t leave his dorm much unless it was to go to class or the restaurant. He almost wanted to suggest they meet up now, but maybe that would seem too eager. Also, Cartman had just gotten off work and it was late. He was probably tired. He took a deep breath.

_Awesome. Yeah, just let me know what time to meet you._

_Will do._

That sounded like a concluded conversation to Kyle. He really hoped he was going to be able to get through the day tomorrow. Plugging his phone in, he rolled over and faced the wall. His body was tired, but his mind was wide awake, and he couldn’t seem to keep his eyes closed. He forced them shut, focusing on his breathing.

* * *

Eric had just parked at his dorm when he checked the first text from Kyle. He internally cursed the little skip his heart gave to reading it. He honestly wasn’t sure if the redhead was going to message him at all, under the circumstances. He really should’ve realized it was Kyle beforehand. Nobody else had hair that red, or eyes that green. Honestly, the first time he’d seen him in the restaurant, he couldn’t believe someone else existed that was just as gorgeous as his high school crush. It only made sense that it _was_ his high school crush.

His brain had stopped functioning when Kyle hugged him. The Jew was so excited, it boggled his mind. Was he actually missed back in South Park? The news made the rest of his work shift hard to focus through. And knowing that Kyle was merely a ten-minute walk down the way made him want to sprint there and throw rocks at his window like a bad teen romance movie. He never thought he’d see the ginger again, let alone successfully romance him. He just hoped that wasn’t in jeopardy now that they’d figured out who each other was. The brief text exchange was enough to make his hands sweaty. Laying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling, Eric ran their almost-kiss over and over in his head. God, he’d been shaken up from that, and knowing it was Kyle made it so much better now.

He remembered the first time he’d ever voiced his attraction for the Jew. He and Kenny were playing Texas hold ‘em in his basement, waiting on Kyle and Stan to come over and play the latest Black Ops release. It was the beginning of sophomore year and Eric had just started losing his baby fat. They were all awkward looking and acne riddled. They were gross, to put it frankly. But Kyle… Kyle gave puberty the biggest middle finger. He’d gotten taller and more angular. His Jewish features and crazy hair settled into something downright alluring. What blemishes he did have were well hidden by his freckles. Eric felt unfairly privileged to witness the blossom of such a striking creature. But these thoughts were kept private, until Kenny had to go and open his stupid stoner mouth.

“You’ve been weirdly nice to Kyle lately,” Kenny had idly commented, as if his words didn’t freeze Eric with fear and suspicion. “What are you talking about?” He’d grumbled under his breath, discarding and drawing more cards. Kenny fixed him with that cocked eyebrow that meant he wasn’t entertaining his bullshit on this matter, “I’m talking about you calling him Kyle and not ‘Jew’ or ‘ginger’ or some variation thereof. What’s that about?” His tone of voice suggested he already had a theory and he just wanted Eric to confirm it. The brunette had rolled his eyes, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is it his eyes?” Kenny batted his eyelashes teasingly, “or maybe his hair? I’ve noticed you use any excuse you can to touch it lately. Or is it maybe his lips? Not gonna lie, I might’ve imagined those perky lips sucking _my_ dick once or twice.” Eric cringed at that, leaning back in his seat and giving Kenny a dirty look, “Jesus Christ, dude. Can we not talk about this right now?” He’d stubbornly turned his attention back to their game of cards, but Kenny decided to then flat out ask, “Do you have a crush on Kyle?” He shouldn’t have hesitated because at that point, he didn’t even need to answer. “No,” Eric said. “Liar,” Kenny sniffed definitively. Eric had been panicked, knowing Stan and Kyle could be there any second. He fixed Kenny with a pleading stare and practically begged, “Don’t tell him, Kenny.” The smile he got was both comforting and terrifying, “I won’t.”

Not even a month later, his mom gave him the news they were moving. He couldn’t look any of them in the eye as he told them, especially not Kyle. He tried his best to move on from that. He’d dated a few people at the new high school in Denver, and one or two his first year of college. And then this absolute beauty of a replica waltzed into Pastabilities one casual Wednesday evening and he was right back to pining over emerald eyes and fantastic, red, curly hair. He thought his own glow up was a feat, Kyle was a wet dream packaged in sweet, freckled smiles. And he _flirted back_.

God, how was he going to get through tomorrow knowing that he was supposed to meet Kyle on Sunday? His heart was beating so fast he was almost worried he might go into cardiac arrest or something. He already knew he wasn’t going to get much sleep. That’s when his phone lit up on his nightstand and he grunted as he reached for it. A silly grin spread over his face at Kyle’s name lighting up his screen once more.

_Is Planet Terror still your favorite B movie?_

_Nah, I have a new one. Is Deep Blue Sea still yours?_

_No, I have a new one._

Eric laughed to himself, crossing his ankles as he sent:

_I’ve missed the last few that have come out. Need to catch up._

_Me too._

_I have Hulu._

_Well don’t be selfish, we should watch together._

Kyle’s smooth response made his head feel fuzzy. No way it was this easy. He’d take it, he wasn’t complaining in the slightest. But this definitely wasn’t helping him fall asleep.

* * *

Kyle stubbornly slept late the next morning, until he physically couldn’t keep his eyes shut any longer. Then he dedicated several hours to finishing an essay for his English class. Even after cleaning and rearranging his mini fridge, refolding all his clothes even though he didn’t need to, and reorganizing his assignment files just because he could, it was still only four pm. He was feeling restless, like he needed to get out and do something to take his mind off the meeting tomorrow. His first thought would normally be to go to Pastabilities, but he doubted that would help him in this instance. Besides, he didn’t want to look too eager.

He decided to print a copy of his resume and take it to the bookstore, but when he got there, a sign on the door said they were closed for the weekend. Kyle sighed, tapping the paper in his hands and chewing the inside of his cheek. The café was closed because of how late it was. He couldn’t take a nap or he’d be up at three in the morning. He thought about seeing if Sawyer wanted to do something but seeing a movie or eating out didn’t sound like something he could sit through right now. And there were no campus events currently going on besides a few Halloween parties, which were less than appealing. He headed back to his dorm to put on one of the shows he was into. However, after having to re-watch the same episode three times, that also proved to be pointless. He just couldn’t stay focused. At least he had managed to kill a couple hours.

He debated texting Kenny or Stan to see if they wanted to dick around in WoW for a bit, but he hadn’t played in almost a year and he could already tell he wasn’t going to be much fun on it. Plus, Stan was probably busy doing something with Wendy, and he thought he remembered Kenny saying he didn’t have a WoW subscription anymore. Kyle really needed to cancel his, too, honestly. He was amazed he managed to make it this far into the day before running out of things to do. Sitting at his desk, he grabbed his earbuds and turned the volume on his phone way up. He leaned back in his chair, feet up on the desk as he closed his eyes and bobbed his head to the music.

For the first time since the meet up had been suggested, Kyle let himself imagine how it would go. He pictured rolling up to the library, freshly showered, seeing Cartman waiting for him on a bench or the front steps. He’d stand when he saw Kyle approaching, grinning. Their conversation would be smooth and easy, talking about what they’d been doing since they’d last seen each other. And by the end, Kyle would bat his eyelashes and ask Cartman to walk him back to his dorm. Or maybe he’d offer to walk Cartman back to his. Maybe he’d be invited up and they’d end up making out, or even-…

Kyle’s breath caught in his throat, eyes opening just slightly to check if his window blinds were closed. They were. He shifted his legs a part, still propped up on the desk. He had one hand on his phone, turning the music up even louder and biting his lip as his free hand idly rubbed the inside of his thigh. Was this something he was going to do? Did he want to make the conscious decision to get off to a fantasy about him and Cartman? He sniffed, imagining big hands rubbing his thighs and tugging on his hair; soft lips on his own, a big frame pressing him into a mattress or a wall or a table. He shivered as he cupped himself. Yeah, he was doing this.

His hands fumbled to get his pants undone, shimmying them down a little. His socked feet flexed as he rubbed himself, moaning softly and biting his lip. It’d been a while since he’d done this and he’d never had more exciting material to fantasize about, so this probably wasn’t going to take long. As he teased his length out of his underwear, he pictured much bigger, rougher hands touching him. With his phone rested on his belly, his other hand could tangle itself in his hair, head leaned back. His legs were already shaking.

His fingers deftly teased the head, dipping further to stroke himself a few times before returning to rubbing the tip. He puffed and bit back a moan, almost forgetting he had neighbors behind these thin walls. He blushed, licking his lips before sticking two of his fingers in his mouth and sucking. He knew he could get loud sometimes, and he was very turned on by the image of Cartman on his knees under his desk, so this was going to be a challenge. His hips jerked as he rapidly stroked, twisting his wrist gently. He was already leaking precum, cock throbbing at the idea of brown eyes staring up at him, full lips wrapped around the head. He rubbed his thumb over the slit, body shuddering and slumping in the chair as he groaned around his fingers. His legs were almost cramping, hips jerking more the closer and closer he drew to release.

He was being careful not to be too vocal, but in his head, he was basically pleading for Cartman to make him finish already. He chanced taking his spit-soaked fingers out of his mouth, stroking with one hand while his wet fingers pinched and teased his tip. His shoulders hunched, a pitiful whimper escaping him. He panted and huffed, feet pressing on the desk and making him lean his chair back a bit. “Ah, yes..” He hissed under his breath, swallowing thickly, “Mm.. Eric…” His back arched a little as his wet fingers rubbed small circles just under the head. His mouth fell open, throat tight and body trembling. _So close, just a little more…_

He licked his palm before jerking just the head, his other hand fondling his balls. He sucked in a sharp breath, clenching his jaw and all but crying out as he finally spilled over his hand and belly. He panted as he came down, still idly teasing the head because the over sensitivity was satisfying and kind of delicious. He shuddered as he sat up, reaching for the roll of paper towels he kept under his desk. After washing his hands, he threw his soiled clothes in the laundry basket and laid naked on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

Well.

No way he was going to be able to face Cartman without blushing up a storm, now. On the bright side, that session had relieved him of some of the stress he’d been feeling all day. He felt calmer and more focused, reaching for his laptop to resume watching his show.

* * *

Eric had done a good job getting through the previous day. Work helped, for sure. But now it was almost noon on the day he was supposed to meet Kyle and he hadn’t picked a time yet. He was pacing around his dorm, between the couch and the kitchenette his came with. When was a good time? He didn’t want to leave Kyle wondering for too long. Maybe if he headed over to the library and _then_ texted Kyle a time, it’d be easier to pick one. He’d showered first thing that morning and was nervously brushing his fingers through his still damp hair. Pulling his shoes on, he decided to start walking and hopefully the crisp, cold air would help clear his head.

It helped a little. After reaching the library, he took a seat at one of the tables by the large, front windows so he might be able to see Kyle coming. Then he texted him.

_I’m ready to meet whenever you are._

He didn’t have to wait long for a response.

_I can go now._

_Perfect._

The butterflies in his belly renewed themselves. His palms felt clammy, leg bouncing restlessly as he slouched in his chair. The dorms Kyle was in were pretty close to the library, so it shouldn’t take him more than a few minutes to arrive. Eric’s eyes searched the sidewalk anxiously. He was chewing on his thumbnail when he noticed someone approaching him from the entrance.

Kyle had to take a deep breath when he saw him. He looked just about as nervous as Kyle felt, which was actually a little comforting. The redhead willed his feet to carry him closer, smiling shyly when Cartman turned his head and made eye contact with him. The tall young man hesitated a moment, like he wasn’t sure, then stood. Kyle stopped next to the table Cartman had been seated at, arms crossed as he greeted softly, “Hi.” Eric rubbed the back of his neck, his other hand flexing its fingers, “Hi. Hey. Um.. do you wanna sit?” Kyle nodded, and they sat down across from each other. The table was small and Cartman had long legs, so their knees were brushing. Kyle tried to ignore it, cheeks pink. They just stared at each other for a minute, then Eric gushed like he couldn’t help it, “I can’t believe it’s you. Like, I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Kyle laughed nervously, fiddling with his fingers, “Yeah, me either. I mean, what a coincidence.”

“Yeah,” Cartman’s voice mirrored Kyle’s anxiety. Neither knew how to break the ice. Kyle had this list of questions he’d prepared and now he couldn’t remember a single one. Cartman was just smiling at him like he’d hung the moon. The ginger glanced away shyly and coughed, “Um.. so, obviously I have questions.” Cartman let out a breath, nodding, “I’d expect nothing else from you. Ask away.” Kyle struggled to speak for a moment, then shyly inquired, “What happened after you moved? You really just came out here?” Eric nodded, leaning on the table between them, “Yeah. It was weird. I didn’t know anybody, and nobody knew me, so I didn’t have a reputation to make me intimidating. Believe it or not, I got through high school largely by minding my own business.”

Kyle laughed, shaking his head, “Wow..” Eric shrugged, grinning sheepishly, “What about you? You said this is your first year of college? I didn’t peg you for the gap year type.” The ginger rolled his eyes gently, still smiling, “Nobody did. But I didn’t have a plan in mind, I just wanted to get out of South Park. So, I’m here for a general associates.” Cartman smiled wider, “That’s awesome, Kyle.” The Jew blushed, ducking his head and almost giggling, “Thanks, Cartman.”

“Uh, actually, I go by Eric now,” He corrected gently, chuckling, “I haven’t been called Cartman since I left South Park.” Kyle looked surprised, but he just grinned, “Oh. Okay. Eric, then.” Kyle saying his first name made Eric’s heart flutter stupidly. He swallowed, glancing down at his hands. Now was the more difficult part. Kyle cleared his throat, drawing Eric’s gaze before saying, “So.. obviously there’s.. something, between us..” At first, Eric grinned widely at that, but Kyle’s voice sounded like it had more to say. He faltered a little bit as he cautiously pressed, “Is there a ‘but’ I hear in there?” The freckled young man bit his lip, “Maybe, but it’s not bad. I just.. it’s a little overwhelming, putting a name to the, uh.. events of the past month. And a little confusing for me because it’s _you_.” Eric watched his eyes, curiosity and hope showing in his own.

Kyle took a breath, admitting, “I, uh.. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this since forty-eight hours ago and now I’ve forgotten everything I wanted to say.” The brunette across from him let out a relieved laugh, “You and me both. I.. I’m so nervous.”

“I can tell,” Kyle tentatively nudged his foot against Eric’s, who sucked in a quick breath at the action. They fell into a tense but hopeful silence. Eric cleared his throat, “So, do you maybe want to.. you know, hang out?” Kyle didn’t hesitate to ask maybe too eagerly, “When?” They both blushed and chuckled shyly. “I mean, I have all day today,” Eric shrugged. Kyle, reminded of his fantasy from yesterday, felt heat travel down his spine. He bit the inside of his cheek, nodding, “I-I’d like that. You want to come over and watch movies or something?” The taller man grinned teasingly, “Bad movies?” Kyle nodded, grinning back, “Definitely.”

“Lead the way,” Eric stood, prompting Kyle to stand with him and start heading for the door. Snow crunched under their feet as Kyle guided them back to his dorm; not that Eric hadn’t seen it already, all the times he’d delivered food there. They walked side by side, arms brushing and shy fingers flexing like they both wanted to reach out but were scared to. As Kyle ascended the stairs and unlocked his door, Eric was already thinking of ways to be as close as possible to him during their movie watching. However, he was distracted by Kyle’s décor. Stepping inside his room, he was surprised by all the pictures of their friend group, and Stan’s Cows jersey hanging on the wall above his bed. “Wow,” Eric mumbled under his breath, approaching the desk and leaning to see the pictures better. Most of them were just Kyle and Stan, or Kyle, Stan, and Kenny. But he had two framed pictures from their freshman year; one of Kenny and Eric covered in pastel tie dye from their Easter egg dye fight, and one of all four of them at the outdoor 3D premiere of The Force Awakens. Kenny and Cartman’s anaglyph glasses were on upside down because they were dorks like that.

Eric glanced to Kyle, pointing at the pictures, “You kept these?” The redhead nodded, “Of course I did. I know I haven’t been here that long, but it’s been really hard without you guys around. That’s half of why I was so happy to figure out who you were.” Eric stood in front of Kyle, looking down at him with a shy smile, “And the other half?” Kyle worried his lip between his teeth, fingers ghosting the sleeve of Eric’s coat, “… I missed you. I didn’t realize how much until I saw you again.” His whole arm tingled from Kyle’s simple touch. He raised his hand to timidly brush a few loose strands of curly hair behind the ginger’s ear, “I missed you, too, Kyle...” The redhead was standing up on his toes, humming and closing his eyes at the action. Eric licked his lips, tipping his head and leaning a little closer. Kyle’s eyes fluttered open and he blushed deeply, clearing his throat. “Um.. movies?” He whispered between them. Eric huffed a laugh, nodding his head and taking a small step back, “Right.”

Kyle sat down on the bed, hiding the fact that his heart was pounding by looking for free to watch B movies. The bed dipped a little as Eric sat beside him, “What first?”

“We could start with a classic,” Kyle suggested, “eight legged freaks? It is Halloween season.” Eric chuckled and nodded, getting comfortable propped against the wall, “Sure.” Kyle setup the film and turned his lamp off for ambience before settling back beside his guest. He pulled his blanket over them, shivering a little. Eric raised an eyebrow, coughing and scooting closer as he commented, “Your heating kinda sucks in this dorm, huh?” Kyle blushed and nodded, also scooting over until he was tucked against the brunette’s side, “Yeah, kinda.” Eric’s heart thump-thumped in his chest, his arm automatically drifting around Kyle and holding him against him. The ginger made no move to stop it. In fact, he leaned into the gesture.

Just when they’d gotten comfortable, there was a knock on Kyle’s door. He furrowed his brow, glancing to Eric apologetically before getting up to pause the movie and answer. The hallway light illuminated Sawyer’s small frame as he smiled up at Kyle, “Hey, Kyle.” The ginger smiled back, “hey, Sawyer. What’s up?” The spectacled young man pushed his glasses up as he said, “Charlie and I are gonna carve our pumpkins if you want to come over and join us.” Kyle bit his lip, flicking his eyes back at Eric, which prompted Sawyer to look in that direction. He blinked in surprise at the Pastabilities waiter, “Oh. Uh, hi. Sorry, I didn’t realize I was interrupting.”

“Nawh, that’s okay,” Eric got up off the bed to stand beside Kyle at the door. He held his hand out to Sawyer, who he very much dwarfed, “Name’s Eric. Good to meet you, finally.” Sawyer’s eyebrows disappeared into his hairline as she shook the offered hand, “I’m Sawyer. Your name’s been Eric this whole time?” The brunette laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head, “Yeah.” They both looked to Kyle, who still hadn’t answered Sawyer’s question. The redhead blushed, “I mean, I’d love to carve pumpkins. Do you think it’d be okay if Eric joined us?” Eric blinked, “Oh, that’s okay, I don’t even have a pumpkin.” Kyle looked disappointed, but Sawyer insisted, “You can still hang out. I’m sure Charlie would love to finally learn your name, too.” Pleading, green eyes were turned on him and Eric couldn’t have argued even if he wanted to. He nodded, smiling, “Okay.”

Sawyer led them over to his dorm, which was much cleaner and emptier than Kyle’s. Charlie was sitting on the floor setting out newspapers and carving tools, looking up at the door as it opened. Her jaw dropped at Eric following behind Kyle, who was carrying his pumpkin. “Got some extra company, Charlie,” Sawyer helpfully pointed out the obvious, “hope you don’t mind.” She shook her head, dusting her pants off as she got to her feet, “Not at all.” Before she could even ask, the brunette held out his hand to her, “Charlie? I’m Eric.” She blinked rapidly, taking his hand slowly, “Eric.. Wow, so much build up for.. that.” Kyle snorted as Eric shrugged.

They all settled on the floor, Eric close beside Kyle. “So, how do you know Kyle?” Sawyer asked, cutting into the top of his pumpkin. Eric leaned back on his hands, “We grew up together, actually. Until sophomore year, when I moved.” Charlie raised an eyebrow, Googling pumpkin face ideas, “you’re from South Park, then?” Eric nodded, “Born and raised.” Sawyer hummed thoughtfully to himself. Kyle was already drawing his pumpkin face on in Sharpie, his tongue cutely sticking out of his mouth. He drew one half before handing the marker to Eric and turning the pumpkin towards him, “Here, you do the other half.” The brunette rolled his eyes playfully, mumbling about Kyle always being bossy before taking the Sharpie and drawing a different expression for his side of the carving. “Wish we could keep and bake the seeds,” Kyle sighed, cutting the top off the pumpkin and starting to scoop the guts out.

“I have a kitchen in my dorm,” Eric offered, earning jealous and surprised looks from Charlie and Sawyer. Kyle raised an eyebrow, “How?” Eric coughed, picking out seeds from the guts as Kyle removed them from the gourd, “Uh, my tuition is fully paid for by my step-dad, so..” Kyle’s eyebrow went even higher, “Step-dad? Your mom married that guy?” The brunette just grunted, giving a single nod in confirmation while simultaneously hinting that he didn’t want to talk about it further. Kyle filed that information away for later.

Once the pumpkins were carved, Charlie passed out little electric candles with the stipulation that she get them back after Halloween. Sawyer put his in his window, grinning, “Perfect.” Eric raised an eyebrow at his and Kyle’s lopsided jack-o-lantern. He shook his head, waiting his turn to wash his hands in the bathroom sink, “Do you have a plastic bag or something I can put these seeds in, Sawyer?” The short man nodded, producing a Ziplock for him. “Alright, I’m gonna head to bed,” Charlie announced, bidding them all good night before heading to her own room. Kyle was standing by the door, cradling his pumpkin to his chest. Eric stood beside him, a hand casually hovering on his lower back. The ginger subtly leaned into the touch as he spoke, “Thanks for inviting us, Sawyer.”

“Of course,” Sawyer grinned, “I guess Eric will be hanging out with us now, huh?” Kyle and Eric both blushed and glanced each other. The taller young man rubbed his neck and chuckled nervously, “If I’m welcome, I wouldn’t mind. I don’t really have anything going for me besides work and classes.” Kyle bit his lip over a smile, dropping his gaze to the floor, “Yeah, that’d be awesome.” Sawyer’s mouth twitched watching them. He cleared his throat, “Well, I’m gonna get to sleep, too. I’ve got a quiz in trig tomorrow.” Kyle nodded, “Okay. Good night, Sawyer. Good luck on your quiz.” He led the way out into the hall, looking up at Eric through his eyelashes as they stopped at his door.

“Guess it’s too late to watch movies now,” The ginger gave him a sheepish half smile. Eric shrugged, settling the top of the jack-o-lantern correctly, “I mean, I have a class at noon and I have to be at work by two. You probably have a class though, huh?” Kyle grinned and nodded, “Yeah, but not until four thirty.” They smirked at each other, Kyle opening his door and backing inside, Eric following him closely. “It wouldn’t hurt for us to sleep in, then,” The brunette observed playfully. The redhead turned and leaned over his desk to put the jack-o-lantern in his window, arching his back unnecessarily to maybe make his backside more prominent, “I mean, you could even stay the night, if you wanted.”

Eric definitely noticed the curves of his back and ass, chewing his tongue as he smirked and took a step closer to him, “Oh yeah?” Kyle straightened up, arms by his sides as he shrugged coyly, “Why not?” They eyed each other for a moment. Eric reached out to pull him closer, one hand on his waist and the other just barely teasing his red curls. Kyle sucked in a breath, his hands resting on the brunette’s chest as he met his gaze. They were obviously leaning in this time, eyes still in the process of closing when Kyle’s phone started buzzing incessantly, shaking the whole desk. He groaned, dropping his forehead to Eric’s chest, “What now?” The taller man laughed, briefly petting a hand through Kyle’s hair. The redhead pulled back to answer his phone, “This better be really important.”

“Wow, you sound like I interrupted your bar mitzvah speech,” Kenny’s voice rang crystal clear through the speaker, “I just want to know how your meeting with Cartman went.” Kyle’s face split into a wide grin as he whirled around to face Eric, “Kenny! Actually, it’s still going on.” He heard a can open as Kenny excitedly asked, “You’re with him right now? Put me on speaker!” Kyle briefly covered the phone to ask, “You wanna talk to Kenny?” Eric laughed, sitting down on the bed as he said, “Of course, what kind of question is that?” Kyle hurried and hit the speaker button, “Okay, you’re good to go.”

Kenny whooped and seemed to fumble with his phone for a second, “Cartman! Is that really you?” Eric stared at the phone, absolutely beaming from Kenny’s excitement, “Yeah, Kenny, it’s me. I go by Eric now.”

“I don’t care what I call you, you son of a bitch, your voice is music to my ears,” He almost sounded emotional. Kyle sat in the desk chair, holding the phone between him and Eric as the brunette laughed, “It’s really good to hear you, too, man. I missed you a lot.” Kyle could’ve sworn he heard Kenny sniff as he replied, “God, I missed you so much. I was fucked up, dude, I was _sober_. For three months.” Eric looked shocked and flattered to hear that, unable to think of a response. He sputtered for a moment, then settled on, “I’m sorry, Kenny. I didn’t think _anybody_ would miss me.” The stoner laughed lightly, sipping whatever it was he’d opened, “Hey, no worries. But you better get my number from Kyle ‘cause I’m gonna text you from now on.” Eric grinned at that, “Definitely.”

Kyle was watching the brunette’s facial expressions. He was genuinely surprised to hear anybody cared that he left. That honestly made Kyle feel a little shitty because that meant Eric hadn’t felt like they wanted him around, right? Was what Stan felt how Eric thought they all felt? That did explain why he would sometimes choose not to hang out with them. It wasn’t because he was being antisocial or that he didn’t like being around them; it was because he thought _they_ didn’t like _him_. “Hey, Kyle,” Kenny addressed him, making him internally shake himself. “Yeah?” The ginger asked. “Send me a picture of you two,” Kenny requested innocently enough, but there was a hint of mischief in it.

Eric and Kyle both blushed as they locked eyes, smiling shyly at each other. “Um.. okay,” Kyle moved to sit on the bed beside his guest, holding the phone up in selfie mode. Eric leaned over his shoulder, holding two fingers up behind the ginger’s head as they both grinned stupidly. Kyle thought it was a pretty good picture, but he didn’t comment as he sent it off to Kenny. The stoner whistled over the phone, “Damn, my man, I see Kyle’s description of ‘delectable’ was well deserved.”

Kyle blanched and blushed furiously, refusing to look at Eric as he scowled, “I-I never said that, dickhole!” Kenny snickered, “Oh, come on, you might as well have.” Kyle pouted, folding his arms over his chest and staring at the floor. His ears were almost as red as his hair, but Eric wasn’t any better. The brunette licked his lips, leaning to whisper in Kyle’s ear, “You talked about me, huh..?” Kyle hunched his shoulders and glanced back at him as he grumbled, “I may have mentioned an annoying waiter with name tags that he thinks are funnier than they are.”

“Mmhm,” Eric raised an eyebrow, smirking coyly, “that’s cute, Kyle.” His breath was ghosting on the shell of the ginger’s ear, making him repress a shudder. He almost dropped the phone, which forced him to remember that Kenny was listening. He shoved Eric’s face away playfully, “Cut it out, Kenny’s still on speaker.”

“Hey, don’t let me cock block you,” Kenny sounded way too pleased and possibly excited, “just pretend I’m not here, I don’t mind.” Eric cringed, making a face, “Still perverted as ever, I see…” Kyle hummed in agreement, still blushing. Kenny laughed, “Well, I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing before I called.” The way he said it was unabashedly suggestive. Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed as Eric chuckled, “Okay. Text you later, Kenny.” The blonde’s grin was apparent as he said, “You better. Peace!” Kyle put his phone on silent before setting it back on the desk. He turned to Eric with a shy smile, “Movie now?” Eric laughed, settling back where he’d been sitting earlier and nodding, “Definitely.”

Kyle set the film back up and hit play, sitting as close to Eric as possible without being on top of him. He wrapped the blanket around them once more, curling into the brunette’s side when he put an arm around his shoulders. A few minutes into the movie, Eric whispered against Kyle’s temple, “Were you being serious earlier?” Kyle glanced up with only his eyes, “About what?” He leaned back to see Eric’s face as the taller man smiled and clarified, “About me staying over.” The redhead’s cheeks flushed pink as he set a hand on the arm around his shoulders, “Yeah.. if you want..”

Eric puffed out his cheeks, curling a strand of ginger hair around his index finger, “Hm.. yeah, okay.” Kyle chuckled, resting his head on his shoulder and turning back to the movie. The Jew didn’t make it through the whole thing; he was fast asleep by the time the credits rolled. Eric carefully laid him down on the mattress, brushing his hair out of his face. He wanted to lay beside him, but he was still a little insecure about exactly where their relationship stood. Besides, he couldn’t let himself get too greedy. They hadn’t even kissed yet, though not for lack of trying. He sighed, pressing a light kiss to Kyle’s temple before laying with his head on the opposite end of the bed, back to the ginger’s. It almost felt silly, like the adult version of a sleepover, but being close to him like this was enough for now.


	6. Dude, if You Do Nothing Else for Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title comes as a special request from my sister, believe it or not. It’s a quote from Joaquin Phoenix’s mockumentary, I’m Still Here. I’d say that movie qualifies as a meme, tbh.
> 
> Cartman liking plants was totally just a thing my brain came up with for no reason. I think it’s cute.
> 
> Btw, Vibe Check is a playlist that exists, it's mine lmao. If you wanna look at it, here, have a link:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/59ZcI6bbQftQVFtgDvDYtB?si=fNZGd9TiRj2uhWmVP4UsJA

Eric woke with a start to the pounding of some screamo song vibrating the bed frame. Kyle groaned, rolling over and pressing his pillow over his head. “What the fuck is that?” Eric slurred drowsily, sitting up and blinking in the early morning light. “Mikah,” Kyle’s voice was muffled from the pillow, “S’my right-side neighbor.” Eric frowned, scooting off the bed and getting to his feet. Kyle turned to watch what he was doing, eyes narrowed, “Where are you going?”

“To tell him to shut the fuck up,” Eric huffed like it should have been obvious. The redhead grunted and rolled out of bed to follow him to the door, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” The taller man ignored him, opening the door and moving into the hallway in front of Mikah’s room. Charlie’s door slammed open and she made to pound on Mikah’s when she stopped dead in her tracks, staring at Eric. He didn’t notice her, knocking loudly.

Mikah opened the door with a sneer, obviously expecting Charlie because of the angle he was looking down at it. He seemed surprised when he had to look _up_ this time. Eric fixed him with a stern frown, one eyebrow raised. Neither of them said anything for a second, then the brunette said barely loud enough to hear over the music, “I’m not about to waste my voice yelling, so if you want to argue with me, you better turn that shit down.” Mikah blinked, then leaned out of view to turn the music _off_, “Uh.. do I know you, man?”

“No,” Eric deadpanned, “but that hardly matters when I can feel your bass speaker reverbing in my fucking skull, does it?” The skinny rock fan didn’t appear to know how to respond, used to dealing with Charlie’s yelling and name calling. He struggled to find a response before laughing nervously, “Sorry, dude, you must not be from this dorm. I do this every morning, to fuck with the bitch at the other end of the hall.” Charlie, who was standing next to Kyle watching, folded her arms over her chest and scoffed in disgust. Eric wasn’t entertaining his excuse, “Yeah, that’d be fine and dandy if there weren’t two people between you.” Again, Mikah didn’t have an answer.

Sawyer, who up until this point hadn’t given any interest in Mikah’s morning shenanigans, poked his head out of his room to see what was up. He wrinkled his nose as he joined Charlie and Kyle, “What’s going on?” Charlie gestured to the scene as she whispered, “Waiter man is telling Mikah off.”

“I told him not to,” Kyle muttered his input. Mikah got a harder look in his eye as he said, “Who the fuck are you, anyway? You can’t tell me what to do.” Eric glanced to the other three watching, then leaned his arm against Mikah’s doorframe. The music blaster stepped back, frowning. “Listen, string bean,” The tall brunette pointed at him, “I’ve done things that’d make your hardcore screamo look like a children’s choir. I’m not in the mood to deal with your inconsiderate ass. If I hear you do that again, I’ll start by breaking your stereo.” Mikah blinked, looking skeptical and unsure, “Start?” The brunette stood back up straight, “Any time after that, it’ll be your brittle bones.” Mikah almost seemed like he was going to call his bluff, but then he backed off and put his hands up, “My bad, man. Sorry.”

Eric waited for the door to close before walking back over to Kyle, “So much for sleeping in.” Sawyer and Charlie were staring at him. The spectacled young man had a thoughtful expression, while Charlie looked thankful yet simultaneously irked. “Thanks,” Kyle yawned, rubbing his eyes. Charlie was the first to go back to her room, without a word. Sawyer gave Eric and Kyle a small smile as he reentered his. The redhead gave Eric a coy smile as he backed into his own room. The brunette followed him without question.

Kyle stretched and laid back down on the bed, curling up by the wall. He patted the spot beside him, batting his eyelashes. Eric bit his lip, smirking lightly as he laid down beside Kyle. “You laid the other way last night,” Kyle hummed teasingly, “that’s cute.” Eric blushed, rubbing his neck, “Well, you were already asleep. Didn’t seem right to smother you.”

“I’m not sleeping now,” Kyle helpfully pointed out, gripping the front of the brunette’s shirt and pulling them closer together. “Good point,” Eric mumbled, wrapping an arm around his waist. The ginger sighed contently, resting his cheek on Eric’s collarbone and squeezing around his middle. The taller man swallowed thickly, hoping Kyle wouldn’t notice how fast his heart was beating as he brushed his fingers through curly hair and nuzzled the top of his head. “This is so surreal,” Kyle hummed, damn near giggling. Eric chuckled, eyes glazed as he focused on how well they fit together like this, “Why’s that?”

Kyle lifted his head to look at him, “It isn’t to you? I mean.. did you ever imagine this is where we’d end up? Not at college, but.. here, with each other.” Eric drew in a breath, blushing lightly as he admitted, “I didn’t _think_ we would.. but I hoped.”

“Wait, what?” Kyle blinked at him, eyes wide. Eric bit his lip, shrugging his shoulders. Kyle sat up on his elbow, one hand on Eric’s shoulder as he raised an eyebrow at him, “Are you telling me you-.. liked me? Before this?” The brunette glanced away, avoiding Kyle’s gaze as he nodded, “Yeah, a little..” The ginger narrowed his eyes, prompting Eric to huff and amend, “Okay, a lot. I liked you a lot.” The Jew stared at him for a few more seconds, churning this information over in his head. That explained why he’d stopped making fun of him as much. And why his “insults” felt more like playful banter towards the end. “Why are you just staring at me?” Eric grumbled, loosening his grip.

Kyle shook his head, lurching forward to hug him around the neck, his body shaking with stifled laughter, “Are you kidding me? Because Stan and Kenny _just_ said the other day, they thought we were going to end up together. And now you’re telling me that you-..” He shook his head again, pulling back to grin at his childhood rival, “It explains a lot.”

“Well, can you blame me?” Eric defended, “everything I made fun of you for suddenly became what I loved about you over night. I didn’t know how to act around you anymore.” The redhead blushed deeply and ducked his head, “And what did you make fun of me for?” Eric puffed out his cheeks, narrowing his eyes. He knew full well Kyle was indirectly asking what he liked about him. The brunette sniffed, “Um.. well, your hair, for one.” Kyle snorted, “My hair.” Eric nodded, caressing up through it and drawing a pleased hum from the ginger, “I honestly can’t tell you why, I just.. wanted to touch it all the time. And your eyes. I mean, I never made fun of those, but still.”

Kyle shook his head, cheeks a bright pink, “That’s ridiculous.” Eric hadn’t realized how much he wanted to voice the things he liked about Kyle, so he tipped his chin up and met his gaze as he went on, “Your freckles, too. Sometimes I’d count them during class. And your big Jew nose.” Kyle couldn’t believe what he was hearing, staring back at the taller young man and chuckling, trying not to let his eyes tear up from the emotions he was experiencing. He cleared his throat, “I think I would’ve liked you, too.. I think I was starting to. But I was in denial, you know, you’d made fun of me my whole life.”

“I know,” Eric cringed, dropping his hand from Kyle’s chin and looking away. “Hey,” The redhead cooed softly, nuzzling his cheek, “I don’t care now. I forgave you a long time ago.” Eric had to suppress the whimper that almost pulled from him, hugging Kyle tightly and burying his face against his neck. The ginger chuckled, petting through brunette hair. “You have no idea how excited I was when I saw you at the restaurant,” Eric mumbled against pale skin, “I didn’t know it was you, but here was this person who had everything I’d been wanting for four years. The hair, the eyes, the freckles, the smile, the wit. I mean, I dated in high school, and a little last year, but…” He pulled back to meet Kyle’s gaze, cupping his cheek and rubbing his thumb gently under his eye, “Nobody’s ever made me as nervous as you do. Nobody’s ever made me as happy just to be around them.”

Kyle shushed him. He was trembling with nerves, holding onto Eric like he’d disappear if he let go, “Stop. You’re gonna give me a heart attack.” The information was so overwhelming, he was having a hard time breathing. The brunette blushed and smiled apologetically, “Sorry.. I’ve never said any of that out loud before.” The ginger laughed lightly, sniffing, “I’ve never had anybody say any of that to me before.” Eric bit his lip, “It sounds dumb and cheesy, but this is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. I just.. I can’t believe it’s _you_.”

“Eric,” Kyle was almost pleading, grinning widely, “Ssh. I get it.” The brunette nodded, grinning back sheepishly, “Sorry.. but you’re so cute.” Kyle groaned and rolled onto his back, covering his face with his hands. Eric leaned over him, nuzzling the back of his hands as he sing-songed, “The redder you get, the cuter you aaare.” Kyle turned his face away, giggling and pushing weakly on Eric’s chest, “S-Stop, dude, seriously.” The brunette shook his head, nosing at the shell of Kyle’s ear and squeezing around his waist, “Mm-mm, you got us into this, now we’re never getting out.”

Kyle barked a laugh, cupping Eric’s face and turning to look at him. They locked eyes, breath catching in their throats. Kyle blinked slowly, his light-colored eyelashes ghosting under his lower eyelids. The brunette above him leaned down, one arm holding him up and his free hand tangling itself in ginger hair. He licked his lips, hesitating. “What..?” Kyle whispered, hands fisted in the front of Eric’s shirt. Eric smirked teasingly, “Just looking, because I can.” Kyle’s heart jumped up to his throat and he leaned up to close the space between them when an unfamiliar alarm started going off. “Fuck,” Eric huffed as Kyle fell back on the mattress and sighed dramatically, “What is it _this_ time?”

“That’s my ‘I need to start getting ready for class’ alarm,” Eric muttered, reaching to grab his phone from where it’d fallen under the bed. Kyle made a petulant noise of irritation, “Of course it is.” The brunette smiled apologetically. As Kyle sat up, Eric assured him, “We’ll get the chance, don’t worry.” He turned to put his shoes and coat on, making sure he had everything before looking to Kyle, “I’ll see you later?” Kyle nodded enthusiastically, standing to walk him to the door, “Text me when you get off work.” Eric smiled, brushing his index finger across his cheek, “I will.” He hesitated a moment, then his hand slid to cup the back of Kyle’s hair as he kissed his forehead and muttered, “Bye, Gingersnap.” The redhead’s knees turned in, and when Eric disappeared out the door, Kyle fell back on his bed with a long, happy sigh.

* * *

Kyle headed down to the parking lot, freshly showered and ready for class. Sawyer was leaning on the hood of his Mazda, staring up at the dorm building in thought. Kyle waved to him and grinned, “Hey, Sawyer!” The spectacled young man turned to look at him, smiling back, “Hey, Kyle.” He pushed off his car, walking over to where Kyle was just opening his truck door. “You got a minute?” The shorter man asked. Kyle nodded, “Sure. What’s up?”

“I was just curious about you and Eric,” Sawyer wiggled his eyebrows, “how’s that going?” The ginger blushed deeply, pushing his wet bangs out of his face, “Oh, it’s.. it’s going really good, actually. I mean, we haven’t.. talked about anything official or even kissed yet, but it’s whatever! There’s no rush, after all.” Sawyer tipped his head curiously, “He hasn’t kissed you yet?” Kyle shrugged, throwing his backpack over to the passenger’s seat, “We keep getting interrupted.” Sawyer hummed, “That’s kinda weird, don’t you think?” Kyle paused, raising an eyebrow, “What do you mean?” The shorter student shrugged, folding his arms over his chest, “It just seems odd. Like the universe doesn’t want you to kiss or something.”

If anyone else had said that to him, Kyle would’ve laughed in their face. He was only able to contain himself because it was Sawyer. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head, “I don’t believe in that sort of thing. We just have bad timing, that’s all.” Sawyer pursed his lips, nodding, “Yeah, maybe.” Kyle felt a twinge of annoyance at that, but he ignored it. He climbed up into his truck, “Well, I gotta go to class. I’ll see you later, though.” Sawyer stepped back, smiling, “Okay. Seeya.”

Kyle drove off to his class building, running over that interaction in his head. Why would Sawyer suggest something like that? That didn’t seem very encouraging for a friend. Even if Kyle did believe in stuff like that, there’s no way he would feel this strongly for Eric if it wasn’t meant to happen, right? He wondered what Sawyer’s motivation for bringing that up was; concern or jealousy? He did tell Kyle he didn’t feel anything from their kiss, though. The redhead shook himself, turning his attention back to his upcoming class. He still had a couple hours before he could see Eric again and he’d have rather distracted himself until then.

As Kyle was walking into his class, he noticed the girl from the library sitting on one of the tables talking to two other young women. She locked eyes with him, raising an eyebrow as if to ask if he was going to say something to her. He dipped his head to acknowledge that he saw her, then sat down in the back of the room like usual. Near the end of the class, he got a text from Eric.

_Got an hour left here. Come over to my place for dinner?_

Kyle bit his lip to fight a grin, quickly texting back as discreetly as possible.

_Wouldn’t miss it._

He had a permanent smile on his face the rest of the lecture. When the professor dismissed them, he eagerly packed up his things and weaseled through the crowd to get out of the classroom. Normally, he waited until everyone else had left because he didn’t like walking in the mass of students, but not today. He needed to get back to his dorm and find something casual yet flattering to wear. Just before he reached the building exit, he heard someone yell, “Hey, dude, wait up!” Kyle turned to see the woman from earlier heading towards him. He raised an eyebrow, facing her, “Yeah?”

She rubbed her shoulder guiltily, stopping in front of him, “I just wanted to apologize for the other day. My buddy and I, we were already having a bad time and he’s kind of a dick and a bad influence on me. There wasn’t any reason for us to say those things to you.” Kyle blinked at her, then laughed lightly and held out his hand, “Like I said, your insults were lame, anyway. My name’s Kyle.” She smiled, shaking his hand, “Call me Tessa.” Tessa had striking blue eyes and light red hair; not nearly as red as Kyle’s but more of a strawberry blonde color. She backed up, giving him a lazy solute, “I gotta get to my next class. I’ll see you ‘round, Kyle.”

He waved to her, then continued his hurried journey to get back to his dorm room. In his head, he was going over the clothes he knew he brought. He didn’t have anything fancy or sexy, but he didn’t want to overdo it, anyway. It was just dinner in a dorm, it wasn’t like they were going out to a place. His brain was on autopilot until he reached his room, rifling through his dresser looking for a nice, green t-shirt that brought out his eyes. He picked a pair of jeans that were a little tighter on him, brushing water through his hair to try and get it to make sense. Now to just wait for a text.

He was unnecessarily nervous about this. He didn’t even know how to get to Eric’s dorm. Would he be getting directions or an address? He alternated between sitting in his desk chair, leg bouncing, and pacing around his room. Finally, his phone buzzed, and he eagerly checked the message he got.

_I’ll pick you up on my way home. Hope you still like Chinese._

Kyle breathed a sigh of relief. At least that problem was resolved. He sat on his bed, watching out the window for the Jeep he’d come to recognize as his waiter’s. It only took a few minutes for it to pull up to the sidewalk. Kyle was on his feet and out the door within seconds. He scrambled down the stairs, ignoring the deepening snow as he jogged across the parking lot. When he opened the passenger door of the Jeep, Eric looked surprised, “Good lord, dude, I didn’t even text you yet.” Kyle blushed deeply, grinning as he climbed up into the vehicle, “Yeah. What can I say, I’m hungry.” Eric laughed, waiting for the ginger to be settled before pulling back onto the main road of campus, “Oh, is that what it is.”

Kyle shrugged, looking around the Jeep curiously. He’d never ridden in one before and the suspension was a little weird. This must have been a newer model because it had the touch screen dashboard and Bluetooth connection. He whistled, impressed, “How’d you get this ride, dude?” Eric glanced at him from the corner of his eye, clearing his throat, “My step-dad. Guy’s a douche, but he still pays for whatever Mom wants, so I guess I have that to be grateful for.” He sounded a little bitter. Kyle frowned, tilting his head, “You don’t like him?” The brunette rolled his tongue around in his mouth, tipping his head from side to side before saying, “He’s fine. He’s arrogant and superficial, and he isn’t exactly husband material. Doesn’t treat my mom the way she deserves to be treated, but at least she’s not-… you know, working anymore… And her life is completely paid for.”

Kyle watched his face as he spoke, assessing his tone and the expressions he made. After a moment, he tentatively asked, “Is he nice to you?” The tall young man shifted in the driver’s seat, glancing at Kyle out of the corner of his eye before licking his lips and grunting, “Let’s just say they’re like a thirty-minute drive from here and I don’t go home for holidays. Summer break, I don’t really have a choice. But spring and Christmas break, I’d much rather be on an empty campus.” Kyle frowned, looking down at the bags of Chinese takeout between them, “I’m sorry.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Eric reached over and ruffled his hair, “it doesn’t matter.” The redhead grinned, batting his hand away playfully, “Come on, dude, I just got it to lay somewhat normal.” Eric snorted, raising an eyebrow, “It looks better when you have bedhead.” Kyle could only imagine the implications of that statement. He blushed, tsk’ing under his breath, “Whatever.” They parked by a dorm he wasn’t familiar with. On the outside it looked pretty much the same as his, but the parking spots had room numbers on them. “You have a designated parking spot?” He teased, poking Eric in the arm. The brunette stuck his tongue out, climbing out of the Jeep and grabbing the takeout, “Yeah, yeah. Come on, Freckles, I thought you were hungry.”

Kyle hopped out, following him to the entrance. As soon as they stepped inside, the difference between their buildings was obvious. This one had the same, small lobby area for mail, but there was also a common room with a television and couches. There were no rooms on the first floor. Eric led him to the stairs, going up one flight. There were less doors in the hallway, meaning the rooms were probably bigger. They stopped at the last door and Eric mumbled to him as he opened the door, “Don’t make fun of my plants.”

“What?” Kyle quirked an eyebrow, stepping in after him. The first thing he noticed was yes, the rooms in this dorm were much bigger. There was a small living room area, a kitchenette, and a raised bedroom area with a long window beside it. There were no walls expect to close off the bathroom, which had a full bathtub-shower combo instead of just a skinny shower. The second thing he noticed was that there was very little décor. No posters, no nickknacks, no pictures. Instead, almost every flat surface had at least one potted plant of varying sizes. There were two, big floor plants on either end of the couch and a hanging plant in the bathroom, too. His eyes must have been wide because Eric coughed and said, “Well don’t just stare at them. It’s rude.”

Kyle slowly turned his head to the brunette, a disbelieving look on his face. Eric was unpacking their dinner, folding up the paper takeout bags and putting them under the kitchen counter. The ginger approached the counter and asked, “Why do you have so many plants?” Eric rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding Kyle’s eyes as he explained, “It’s, uh.. sort of a long story.”

“I have time,” Kyle suppressed a chuckle, helping Eric move the food over to the table. The brunette sighed, giving him a halfhearted glare, “Fine. You remember Mr Kitty passed freshman year?” Kyle nodded patiently. Eric made some sort of vague gesture, “Well, when I was first looking at going to college here, I wanted to get a kitten to take with me. To have a buddy, you know. But you can’t have pets in the dorms, only registered service animals. So, a friend of my mom’s who works at the animal shelter was talking to me about it and she said plants were a good substitute to a pet. I.. may have gotten a little carried away..” They both glanced around at the numerous plants on the counters and shelves. “But hey,” Eric grinned, “you gotta admit, it smells fucking good in here.”

Kyle laughed, sitting at the table and taking a deep breath. It did smell good, like a greenhouse or grass fresh after a rain shower. “Yeah, it does,” He confirmed. Eric stepped around the table towards the bed area, “I’m gonna change out of my work uniform.” Kyle just nodded, resisting the urge to turn and watch. He heard dresser drawers open and close, as well as a belt buckle clinking. He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks pinking a little. He couldn’t resist a subtle glance over his shoulder, barely catching a full view of the brunette’s bare back before he was pulling a fresh shirt on. “Do your plants have names?” He asked to make conversation and distract himself. Eric came back into his view and sat beside him at the table, “Some of them do, yeah. Mostly just the ones I really like or ones I don’t have duplicates of.”

He pointed to one of the bigger plants by the couch, “That one over there, with the big flat leaves, that’s called an elephant’s ear. She’s really finicky and needs an exact amount of sunlight or her leaves get spotty and the stalks droop. Her name’s Karen.” Kyle barked a laugh, earning a grin from Eric, who turned to the bedroom and pointed to a tiny cactus in the window, “That’s a bishop’s cap cactus. He needs full sunlight. His name’s Sebastian.” This was highly amusing to Kyle, who reached out and tapped the pot of the plant in the middle of the table, “What’s this one?”

Eric bit his lip, a faint blush coming over his cheeks as he said, “That’s a spiderwort. Or, uh.. it’s also called a wandering Jew.” Kyle blanched at that, then just laughed again, “Of course it is. Does it have a name?” The brunette looked down at his lap, pursing his lips and rubbing a hand through his hair as he cleared his throat, “Uh, yeah.. yeah, he has a name..” His blush worsened as Kyle stared at him, a shit-eating grin spreading over the ginger’s face. “Eric,” He cooed, leaning over towards him, “did you name a plant after me?”

“Well, I mean,” Eric gestured to the plant as if that should’ve been explanation enough, “he’s a wandering Jew! What else was I gonna name him?” Kyle beamed, hugging around the brunette’s neck and planting a kiss on his cheek, “That’s flattering and adorable.” Eric smiled shyly, “You don’t think it’s weird?” Kyle shook his head, “Nope.”

The ginger’s stomach growled, then, and they both glanced down and laughed. “We should probably eat,” Eric teased, pulling the food over to them. Kyle nodded eagerly, settling back in his chair and going through the takeout boxes. They ate in comfortable silence for a while, until Eric asked, “So, what do you want to do after dinner? I don’t have work or class tomorrow.” Kyle hummed thoughtfully. He knew what he wanted; he wanted his kiss. But he didn’t want to come right out and say that because he also wanted it to be natural and not rushed. “We should watch scary movies,” He settled on suggesting, “I don’t have anything tomorrow either and it’d be nice not to have to deal with rock music at seven am.”

Eric rolled his eyes, eating rice straight out of one of the boxes with the supplied chopsticks, “That guy’s an ass. You should report him to whoever maintains your dorm.” Kyle blinked, surprised, “You can do that?” The brunette nodded, “The office is probably around your building somewhere.” The ginger thought back to the goth chick who’d given him his room key. Didn’t she say the building across the street would help him if he needed anything? He grunted, shrugging, “I’ll look into it.”

Kyle leaned back in his seat, smiling over at his companion, “I’ve missed this. Hanging out.” Eric beamed, “Me too. After I left, I wished I had hung out with you guys more.”

“Why didn’t you?” Kyle inquired carefully. The taller man sucked in a breath through his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck, “Um.. because I knew I wasn’t there for any reason other than inviting myself. Because.. I knew I had been an ass to you guys, and even if I wasn’t anymore, you were justified in hating me. Most of the time, I was lonely enough not to care. Like when I was younger, during and before middle school, I just wanted attention and I didn’t care if it was bad. But when we started high school…” He stirred his rice around, staring into it to avoid meeting Kyle’s gaze. The redhead set a hand on his arm, “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But you should know that we didn’t hate you. Well.. I can’t speak for Stan, sometimes I think he did. But Kenny and I didn’t.”

Eric smiled over at him, making eye contact for a split second before looking away again, “It’s so weird to hear that..” Kyle scooted his chair closer to rest his head on Eric’s shoulder as he continued eating. The brunette licked his lips, taking a deep breath before saying, “You know what changed?” Kyle shook his head, watching him attentively. Eric sighed, “I think it was.. the summer before freshman year. We were out at Starks Pond, skipping rocks and smoking some really dank shit that Kenny brought. Stan was passed out in his truck bed. Kenny was sitting in the water with his pants rolled up singing Marvin Gay at the sky. You and I were sitting on opposite ends of that bench.”

Kyle was fascinated by his retelling of it, eyes wide and curious. “You were totally baked. Like, double layer cake baked,” Eric chuckled as he continued, “I hadn’t smoked as much as the rest of you because I was having one of those days where everything just seemed shitty. I hated my house for being so empty. I hated my mom for her job. And I hated myself for being the way that I was. I was almost resigned to the fact that if I wanted people to look at me, it was going to have to be in a bad way. But then…”

He bit his lip, setting his takeout box on the table, “You were rambling about something. I don’t remember what you were agitated about, but you were really going at it. I mean, curse word after curse word, like you were trying to test how many you could string together before it stopped being a coherent sentence. I told you to shut up and you called me an asshole, so I called you a bitch buoy. You must have been _really_ high because you thought that was the funniest thing you’d ever heard in your life.” Kyle remembered that. He’d almost fallen off the bench laughing. It just sounded funny; even now, he was snickering. Eric gave him a playful glare, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, “I was confused, to say the least. It was the first time you’d ever laughed at something I said that wasn’t because I was being stupid or mean to someone else. And you looked so happy, grinning at me with your hair all over the place. That’s when it first occurred to me that maybe I didn’t want to make you frown anymore. Because your smile was way more rewarding.”

Kyle just stared at him for a few seconds, then breathed, “Wow. That’s really gay.” Eric scoffed, shoving him lightly as Kyle laughed, “Hey, nothing wrong with that!” He hugged the brunette’s arm, nuzzling his shoulder, “You wanna know what Stan said to me when I told him and Kenny you were the waiter I’d been basically stalking?” Eric raised an eyebrow, nodding and turning in his chair to hug the redhead against his chest. Kyle wrapped his arms around his neck, “He said he wasn’t that surprised because I had to have been in love with you to put up with all your bullshit when we were kids.” Eric blushed deeply, laughing, “In love with me, huh?” Kyle shrugged, “Maybe he wasn’t wrong.. Maybe I did love you, deep, deep, deep down somewhere. Like _deep_ down.”

“Okay, I get it,” Eric rolled his eyes, chuckling, “I was an ass. I know.”

“You’re still an ass,” Kyle corrected, “I can tell. But you’re also kind and honest, which is different.” The brunette’s mouth quirked in a smile, which drew Kyle’s eyes down to his lips. He licked his own, caressing up Eric’s neck and into his hair, “I mean.. you’d have never admitted any of this to me in the past.” The tall young man hummed, eyes fluttering closed as he mumbled, “God forbid you knew I had feelings.” Kyle chuckled softly, nudging their noses together and making Eric snap his eyes open. “You don’t have any more alarms for today, right?” He whispered. The brunette subtly shook his head, hands sliding up Kyle’s back, “You’re not expecting a phone call, are you?” Kyle grinned, shaking his head. Their mingled breath smelled like chicken and sweet n’ sour sauce, their faces a hairs width apart. Kyle felt thick fingers settle in his hair as he leaned forward the last little bit.

The warmth in his chest burst as their lips finally met. He heard a whimper but couldn’t tell which one of them it came from. Not that he cared. The ginger’s mind was swimming as he tipped his head just barely. Eric responded in kind, pulling him closer and guiding the movement of their lips. Kyle could’ve sworn he heard ringing somewhere in the distance, but it might’ve been in his head. They had to part to catch their breath, panting against each other with wide, bright smiles. “Wow,” Eric sounded blissed, almost disbelieving, and a little out of it. Kyle wasn’t any different, his eyelids fluttering as he sighed heavily, “Fucking finally..”

Eric barked a laugh, nuzzling Kyle’s cheek and squeezing him tightly against his chest, “God, you’re amazing.” The ginger blushed and grinned, his fingers kneading the brunette’s shoulders, “You’re one to talk.” Eric was covering his face in kisses, holding onto him like he was a treasure and mumbling under his breath, “Can’t believe I get to hold you like this.. after so long..” Kyle blushed a bright crimson, giggling. They fell into another kiss, and that time it was definitely Eric that swooned. Kyle had never felt so wanted or loved before.

* * *

They’d spent the rest of the night cuddled as close as possible on the couch, watching horror movies and talking about their plans for the rest of the week. Eric had expressed that he wanted to go to a haunted house before the season was over, but Kyle wasn’t super keen. That was, until Eric decided to kiss by his ear and say, “C’mon, it could be our first real date.” That did make it sound more appealing, but he still needed a few more kisses before he agreed.

Kyle was in his dorm currently, having just showered. He was picking an outfit to wear to the haunted house when there was a knock on his door. He hurriedly pulled on a pair of sweats and a shirt to answer, smiling down at Sawyer, “Hey dude. What’s up?” The spectacled young man beamed up at him, “Charlie and I are gonna have a Halloween movie marathon all night. Do you wanna join us?” Kyle bit his lip guiltily, “Actually, Eric and I are going to a haunted house tonight. He should be here to pick me up any minute now.” Sawyer’s face fell, brow furrowing, “Oh. Well, that’s okay. Is it like a date?”

“Yeah,” Kyle confirmed maybe too excitedly, “I’m nervous, even though I know I don’t need to be. We, uh.. we finally kissed the other night.” Sawyer made a noise of surprise, “Congratulations. Sounds like you guys are getting pretty close.” Kyle nodded, grinning. They both glanced down the hall as they heard footsteps. Eric appeared at the end, smiling at them, “Hey! How’s it goin’, Sawyer?” The short student pushed his glasses up his face, giving the brunette a half smile, “Good.” He didn’t say anything else, so Eric turned to Kyle, “You ready to go?” The ginger blushed and shook his head, “I need to change. Give me one minute.” He disappeared into his room.

Eric leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, looking casual and content. Sawyer eyed him a moment, then asked, “You really like Kyle, huh?” The taller man blushed and chuckled, rubbing his neck, “Yeah. I have since high school. I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve seen him, but.. He’s just as stubborn and beautiful as ever.” Sawyer forced his lips into a thin smile, glancing at the ginger’s door and saying, “Yeah, he’s really something. I hope you guys are happy together.”

“We are,” Eric assured him, “it’s sorta unreal. I mean, I was kinda mean to him when we were kids, but he’s.. he’s too forgiving, in my opinion. But I’m absolutely not complaining.” Sawyer blinked over at him, processing that information. He didn’t get to say anything else before Kyle’s door opened and the ginger in question was standing there in black jeans and a dark red shirt, pulling a hoodie over his head. His hair was still damp. “Okay,” He grinned up at Eric, “I’m ready.” The tall brunette grinned back, leaning over to plant a kiss on Kyle’s forehead and take his hand, “Let’s go, then.” They both waved and bid goodbye to Sawyer, who lazily waved back and watched them until they were out of sight.

Eric opened the passenger door of his Jeep for Kyle, kissing his hand and wiggling his eyebrows. Kyle rolled his eyes, blushing and smiling as he watched the brunette jog around to get in the driver’s seat. “How far away is it?” The redhead asked. Eric put an address into Google Maps, then handed the phone to Kyle, “About an hour. Here, you pick the music.” Kyle blinked, noticing the Bluetooth connection was enabled on the dashboard. “Use Spotify,” Eric instructed, and Kyle searched for the app. When he found it, he scrolled through the saved playlists. One in particular stood out to him because of the title. He raised an eyebrow, hitting shuffle play a few times to see the kind of music it had.

“What is this?” He blinked over at Eric, surprised by the variety of music genres and time eras they were from. “Sound like Vibe Check,” Eric wiggled his eyebrows, “my favorite playlist.” The Jew wrinkled his nose, “Why is it called Vibe Check?” Eric gave him a wink and a playful finger gun, “Because every song change gives you whiplash.”

Kyle laughed incredulously, setting the phone down and letting the music play freely. With every song that played, the brunette in the driver’s seat would nod his head to the beat and sing under his breath. Kyle recognized most of the songs, at least enough to hum along. After a while of quiet listening, Eric decided to turn the volume up. His casual jamming escalated until he was basically belting lyrics at his windshield. Kyle was grinning as he listened to him, highly amused. The redhead added his voice sometimes, but his movements were kept to a minimum because he still didn’t have any rhythm and he didn’t want to embarrass himself.

They entered another town and Eric turned the music back down, chuckling over at Kyle, “Having fun?” The ginger nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, actually, I am.”

“Good,” Eric grinned at him as they pulled into the parking lot of what looked like an empty lot. Tents were set up with big signs advertising the haunted house (or in this case, haunted trail, more like). Kyle looked around curiously, sticking close to Eric as they went to find the ticket line. There were a few people walking around in wild costumes with prosthetic makeup and very convincing props. One of them came up behind Kyle and made a jerking motion towards him, which made him jump and grab onto Eric’s arm. The taller man chuckled and put an arm around his shoulders, unphased by the costumed actor, “Already jumpy?”

Kyle glared up at him, “No. He just startled me.” He normally wasn’t bothered by this sort of thing. Horror movies didn’t scare him, and neither did people in costumes, usually. Maybe it was just nerves from this being their first real date that was putting him so on edge. At least, that’s what he was blaming. The lady at the ticket tent was kind and teased them about not making an effort to dress up. Kyle didn’t have a rebuttal, since he hadn’t dressed up for Halloween in years. Eric, however, easily returned her repartee, “I am dressed up. I’m the embodiment of a fear of heights.” They lady laughed, waving them off with a playfully scolding eyebrow raise.

They stood in line to enter the trail, listening to the rock music being blasted as entertainment. Kyle was still clinging to Eric’s side, looking around at the decorations, “This is pretty cool for fifteen bucks.” Eric nodded his agreement, “Yeah, this was the highest rated within like a hundred miles or something. For under thirty bucks, at least. There’s a bigger one that’s hosted in a real mansion or something, but one ticket was forty-five.”

“Yikes,” Kyle tsk’d under his breath, “no thank you. This is perfect.” They were drawing near the entrance which Kyle could see was covered with a split tarp and fake spiderwebs. He chuckled at some teenage girls getting scared by a person standing by the doorway pretending to be a decoration. The lights strung around bathed the whole lot in a red glow, which definitely added to the atmosphere. “You ready?” Eric teased in his ear as they approached the starting tarp. Kyle snorted and rolled his eyes, “Yes.”

They were letting groups of people in at a time. They ended up grouped with three other people (two women and one guy) who’d also come as a group. They were in front but jostling around and arguing about who should go first. Eric and Kyle looked amused. One of the girls caught their gaze and said, “Well if you guys are so confident, why don’t you go first?” Kyle shrugged and shoulder past them, followed closely by his tall date. They hurried along through the different rooms, modeled like hospitals, railroad stations, zombie apocalypse grounds, and there was even a funhouse room. The people behind them would jump and scream, but Kyle and Eric were largely unbothered. It was fun. The props and makeup were cool to look at.

They were coming to what looked like the end. There was a corner as they were exiting a room decorated like a bomb shelter, and as they rounded it, a person in a gas mask with a machete jumped out in front of them. Kyle, who hadn’t been paying attention to what was in front of them, yelped and jumped nearly a foot off the ground as he scrambled to grab onto Eric. The brunette laughed, hugging around the ginger’s shoulders and ruffling his hair, “You okay, Freckles?” Kyle was panting from adrenaline, one hand on his chest and the other forcing a death grip on Eric’s shirt, “I’m fine.. Holy fuck, that guy got me good.” He laughed lightly, glancing back at the other people with them, who were laughing, too.

At the end of the trail, there was a tent giving out candy and selling candid photos taken throughout the trail. They stopped to look through them, Eric smirking and pointing out the one with the masked guy scaring Kyle, “You look terrified.” Kyle clucked his tongue, folding his arms in a pout before grabbing a bag of candy. The brunette chuckled, approaching the staff to ask if he could buy a bundle of their photos. Kyle nosily leaned to look at the envelope he brought back, “Any good ones?”

“I’m sure they’re all great,” Eric chuckled, handing him the envelope and taking his hand to lead him back to the parking lot, “did you have a good time?” Kyle beamed at him, nodding, “Yeah.. I’m glad we came. This was a pretty good first date.” The brunette returned his elated expression, “Yeah? Good. I think dinner and movie dates are boring, so I try not to fall back on those. Unless it’s at home and you’re cooking together, then it’s pretty fun.”

Kyle bit his lip, squeezing Eric’s hand to make him look at him, “Maybe that could be our next one.” As they reached the car, the taller young man leaned to peck Kyle on the forehead, “Whatever you want, Gingersnap.” Kyle bit his lip, wrapping an arm around Eric’s neck to pull him down into a kiss. It lasted a good few seconds, a bubble of warmth surrounding them as Kyle barely pulled back and mumbled, “That’s cute.” Eric’s eyelids fluttered, a dopey smile on his face as he asked, “What is?”

“The nicknaming thing you do,” The ginger clarified, hopping into the passenger’s side of the Jeep. The brunette went around the other side, blushing lightly and grinning as he started the vehicle, “I’m glad you think so.” It was late and both were feeling tired but happy from their outing. Kyle was picking out Jolly Ranchers from the candy bag he’d snagged, handing other pieces of sweets to Eric when he asked. They drove back to campus with their fingers interlocked over the center console, Vibe Check playing quietly in the background.


	7. But the Yo-Yo Master Did Not Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT at the very end of the chapter, after they sit on the couch.
> 
> He just kept on yo-ing. Seriously one of my favorite vines ever lmao. This chapter took me longer to do because my sleep schedule has been absolute trash this past week.
> 
> We’ve still got a ways to go! This is going to extend through the Christmas season (in story timeline wise) and I haven’t decided if I want to end it on or after New Years yet. Some of you in the comments have already picked up on a major plot point, you smart cookies. Let’s see your predictions.

For the past few days, Kyle and Eric had been alternating staying at each other’s dorms. Mikah, to his credit, seemed to learn that the Jeep in the parking lot meant it wasn’t a good idea for him to blast his music. However, on days when it wasn’t, he continued his atrocious behavior. Kyle had been enjoying the breaks, but he still sometimes had to stay at his dorm alone. Having the luxury of sometimes sleeping in and now knowing he could report his neighbor’s behavior was influencing his irritation to the worst degree.

One morning, as the ginger was heading for coffee, he passed Charlie leaned against the side of their building. She had a half-gone cigarette between her lips and the ashtray beside her already had two fresh butts; so, she was obviously having a rough morning. Kyle paused a few feet from her, half turned with his keys in his hand and backpack slung over his shoulder, “You okay, Charlie?” He expected some rebuttal about how it didn’t matter or that he should mind his own business, but she just shook her head. “No,” Her voice was hoarse, probably from the daily screaming match, and the cigarettes likely didn’t help, “I’m getting really fucking tired of Mikah.”

Kyle hesitated, glancing to his truck and debating leaving. He and Charlie weren’t friends. They had a respectful understanding of each other as dormmates, and they were mutual friends with Sawyer, but they didn’t mesh as people and they were okay with that. She wasn’t one to talk to Kyle so freely without Sawyer present. In this case, though, Kyle was also pretty fucking tired of being woken up at seven am every day, regardless of if he had class or not. What Mikah was doing was rude and disrespectful no matter how you looked at it. The redhead approached Charlie slowly, “You know, Eric said we could report him for noise disturbance. I’ll back you, and I’m sure Sawyer would, too.”

Charlie gave a soft, amused but sad chuckle as he took a long drag of her cigarette, “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’ve tried. They gave me some bullshit about how noise disturbances are only valid between nine pm and five am.” Kyle wrinkled his nose, offended, “That’s retarded. Even if enough people complain?”

“Yep,” She popped the ‘p’ for emphasis, flicking ash into the tray, “I tried changing dorms, too, but the other buildings in this price range are full and I can’t afford anything else. I’d have to convince someone to switch with me.” Kyle frowned even deeper, “That sucks. I’m sorry.” Charlie raised an eyebrow at him, seeming surprised. She shrugged, “Whatever. It is what it is.” For another minute or so, the breeze and the sound of Charlie rubbing her cigarette into the ashtray were all that could be heard. Then Kyle licked his lips and asked, “Why does he hate you?” Charlie blanched at his bluntness, glaring at him, “Are you always so tactless?”

“Sorry,” Kyle lowered his gaze, defensive because of her tone but also guilty because, yeah, that maybe was a little insensitive. She sighed irritably, stuffing her hands in her pockets and rolling her eyes, “Mikah and I used to date. He came down my second year and we hit it off, at first. Our relationship didn’t end well. One of the things we argued about was his music because it gave me a headache and he liked to blast it in the car.” Kyle grimaced, “Oh.”

Charlie nodded, giving an unamused snort, “Want some free advice? Don’t get involved with someone in the same dorm as you.” She gave him a look and the redhead blinked, his eyebrows shooting up into his hairline. He assumed she knew that Sawyer and he had a brief crush situation, so she must have been subtly referring to that, right? “Oh,” He deadpanned, looking at the main road as a few cars drove by, “right.” The young woman brushed her hair behind her ear and pushed off the wall, not looking at him as she said, “See you later, carrot top.” He watched her enter the building before shaking himself and continuing his original mission to get coffee.

* * *

Ryan had off work that day, and the other baristas weren’t as chatty to Kyle, but he didn’t mind. He sat at a table in the corner to do some schoolwork and wait for the bookstore next door to open. He’d printed his resume at the library a few days ago and was eager to give it to the shop keeper. Much as he liked having the free time he did, because it made him flexible to hang out with Eric whenever he wanted, the brunette wasn’t always available. He had his own classes and a part time job, which Kyle respected; but it would be nice for _him_ to have something to do on those days. Plus, all the money he’d blown on Italian food the first two months of being there had quickly depleted his spending stash.

When the time came, he walked next door. The storekeeper was amused by his eagerness and basically hired him on the spot, telling him he could start next week. Kyle was feeling accomplished, strolling back to his truck when he heard someone call his name. Looking around, he spotted Tessa crossing the street, a Starbucks cup in her hand and a bag hanging off her shoulder. “Hey, dude,” She greeted him, sipping on her drink, “what’s up?” Kyle was surprised how comfortable she sounded greeting him. “Hey, Tessa,” He chuckled, tossing his backpack in his truck, “I just got hired at the bookstore. I was about to treat myself to lunch.”

“Dope, congratulations,” She grinned at him, “you want company?” Kyle tipped his head curiously. This exchange felt so casual, it was almost refreshing; as if he were talking to someone he’d known for a while. He smiled back, “I wouldn’t mind company. Hope you like Italian food, though.” She snorted, chugging the rest of her coffee and dumping the cup in the nearest bin before following his lead in climbing into the truck, “Who doesn’t like Italian food?” They drove in comfortable silence. This was only their second interaction ever, but Kyle wasn’t put off by that. Oddly enough, Tessa was the first person he’d met there that he wasn’t worried about acting a certain way in front of; besides Eric, of course. Sawyer and Charlie sometimes made him feel like he needed to censor himself, to a degree.

“Hey, I know someone who works here,” Tessa commented as they parked in the Pastabilities lot. Kyle hummed thoughtfully, “Me too, actually.” The bell dinged above their heads, announcing their entrance. “You alright with a high-top?” Kyle asked, already headed in that direction. “Yeah, that’s fine,” Tessa shrugged, making a detour, “I gotta use the restroom, I’ll be right back.” He nodded, picking his usual spot. He knew Eric was working today, looking around for him as he fiddled with his wrapped silverware. His green eyes lit up as he noticed the brunette walking towards him. “Hey, Freckles,” The waiter grinned at him, leaning in for a quick, chaste kiss, “just can’t stay away, huh?”

Kyle wiggled his eyebrows, “Well see, there’s this really hot waiter that I’ve been wanting to know the name of.” Eric blushed and laughed, shaking his head, “Okay, Smartass. Hey, what do you think of today’s name tag?” He tapped his pen against the scribbled-on plastic that read _Ajax_. “Wow,” Kyle snorted, biting his lip to fight a smile, “not bad.” Eric stuck his tongue out at him, then turned when Tessa appeared beside him and said, “Dude, how have you not run out of names yet?” The brunette blinked down at her, then smiled and gave her brief side hug, “Tessa! What the hell are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in months.”

“Eh, been lyin’ low,” She shrugged as she sat at the table. Kyle furrowed his brow, confused. Eric looked surprised to see her sit with him, “You guys came here together?” The male redhead glanced to her, then back to Eric, “Tessa’s in one of my classes.”

“You know each other?” Tessa’s eyebrows shot up high. Eric blushed lightly and rubbed the back of his neck, “Well, yeah. We’re.. sort of dating.” Kyle bit his lip shyly, cheeks pink. Tessa laughed, “Damn dude, still got a thing for redheads, huh?” The Jew was bewildered by this statement, looking to Eric for explanation. The tall young man seemed a little uncomfortable, shifting his weight from hip to hip and fiddling with his pen. He avoided looking at Kyle as he said, “I mean.. Tessa, Kyle is.. one of the people I grew up with..” His words obviously had some other meaning because her eyes widened and she looked to Kyle in fascination, “Oh. Oh my God, really? Wow.” The brunette muttered something about getting them drinks before hurrying off, clearly embarrassed.

Kyle had no idea what just transpired in front of him. Tessa was looking at him in disbelief now. “What?” He asked, a little snappy because he was feeling out of the loop. She laughed and shook her head, “Nothing, it’s just… Well, Eric and I used to date.” Kyle blanched and leaned back in his seat, “Seriously?” She nodded, “We dated once in high school, then again last year after we both got accepted to Denver University, but.. I mean, you’ve got nothing to worry about, we decided it wouldn’t work.” Kyle just stared at her, blinking slowly. “Besides,” She continued, “if you’re who he’s hinting you are, you _really_ have nothing to worry about.”

Kyle was silent for a moment longer, then narrowed his eyes and said, “I don’t follow.” Tessa brushed her hair behind her ear and shrugged, sighing, “Let’s just say most of his exes are redheads and there’s a reason for that.” The young man in front of her still looked confused and skeptical, so she rolled her eyes and said plainly, “You, Kyle.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Tessa chuckled, “Eric talked about you a lot in the beginning, when he and I first met. He made you sound like a babe. Honestly, he wasn’t wrong.” She wiggled her eyebrows and Kyle blushed deeply, glancing towards the kitchen where he assumed Eric was, “He talked about me..?” Eric had already gushed about his crush on Kyle in high school, but he didn’t realize the extent of it. It made his chest feel full and his body hum with warmth. “When we started dating, I sorta knew nobody would ever live up to the standards you set,” Tessa admitted. The Jew frowned, “I’m sorry, I think..”

“Oh, that wasn’t why we broke up, either time. We just aren’t good for each other. We share too many insecurities,” Tessa assured him. Eric returned before Kyle could say anything else, blushing and setting their drinks on the table. Kyle slid off his seat to pull him aside a little, “Hey.. you dated Tessa?” The brunette stammered, looking flustered, “W-Well, yeah, but we haven’t even kept up with each other. I promise there’s nothing between us anymore.” He looked scared, like he thought Kyle would be upset or hurt. The ginger shook his head, hugging around his neck and kissing his cheek, “You’re such a hypocrite. Your type is gingers.”

Eric barked a nervous laugh, caught off guard by the kiss and the comment. He set his hands on Kyle’s waist, “To be fair, no, my type isn’t gingers. My type is you and you happen to be ginger.” Kyle sucked in a breath, biting the inside of his cheek and eyeing the taller young man. “When are you off next?” He asked. Eric scratched his head, “Tomorrow, I think.” The Jew gave him a coy smile, “We should have that domestic cooking date you were talking about.”

“Yeah?” Eric smirked, resting his forehead on Kyle’s. The ginger nodded. The brunette kissed his forehead before pulling away so they both could return to the table, “Deal.”

* * *

As Kyle was walking up the dorm staircase, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He was coming back from his later class, which he shared with Tessa. She’d sat with him today, and even though they didn’t talk much, I was nice to have a friendly face taking up the desk next to him instead of a stranger. Besides, they both made snide or punny comments under their breath during lecture and it was satisfying that the other would snicker if they heard. He caught Sawyer barely unlocking his door, giving him a smile that was briefly returned before the spectacled young man disappeared. They’d been talking less and less since Kyle started dating Eric and he was beginning to suspect that Sawyer was somewhat jealous.

He checked his phone to see a text from Stan telling him to give him a call whenever he got a chance. Kyle entered his dorm room and set his bag down, dropping into his desk chair and spinning around once as he dialed his best friend’s number. It only rang twice before he answered, “Hey, Kyle!”

“Hey, dude,” The redhead smiled, “what’s up?” He could tell whatever Stan was going to say was exciting because his words were hurried and his voice was urgent, “Wendy and I are getting a four day weekend this week because of some fundraiser or something one of the big clubs is doing, so I thought maybe I’d come out and visit you, if you’re free!” Kyle sat up straighter, a wide grin splitting his face as he exclaimed, “Hell yeah! That’d be awesome! Just give me dates and a time to pick you up from the airport.” Stan opened a drawer in the distance and Kyle heard a pen clicking. “Does Friday to Sunday work for you?” The raven-haired man asked.

Kyle nodded unnecessarily, “Yeah, that’s perfect.” Stan’s tone was teasing as he said, “You can show me this Pastabilities restaurant.” The ginger faltered for a second, biting his lip as he grunt in thought, “Right.. I mean, we’ll probably see Eric there, but if you’re okay with that.”

“Eric?”

“Cartman.”

“Oh.” Stan’s voice was a little quieter, like he’d forgotten about that, but he seemed to shake himself before saying, “I mean, you guys are like.. together, right?” Kyle sheepishly confirmed, “Yeah. We’ve been officially dating for almost three weeks now.” There was a pause where Kyle could hear his friend idly clicking a pen, indicating he was thinking hard about this. Eventually, Stan sighed and said, “Dude, if you guys are together, I can deal with being around him. I did it before. As long as he doesn’t act like an ass and push my buttons.” Kyle shook his head, “He won’t.”

“And I’m still gonna call him Cartman.”

Kyle rolled his eyes, thinking that was maybe a little stubborn and unnecessary, but whatever made Stan feel better, “Yeah, fine.” That was also slightly hypocritical if Stan thought that would bother Eric, because wouldn’t that be Stan pushing the buttons? Kyle didn’t comment, just listened as Stan browsed flights and round-trip tickets. He wrote down the dates and times they settled on. “This is gonna be great,” His friend was obviously grinning by the sound of his voice. Kyle couldn’t help but agree, “Yeah, dude. I haven’t seen you in almost two years, I can’t wait.” His phone beeped to tell him he got a text, and he smiled at seeing it was from Eric.

_I’m out front._

He even included a red heart emoji, which was sappy and dumb, but it made Kyle’s chest flutter, nonetheless. “Hey, Stan, I gotta go,” He said into the phone, “Eric and I are having more of a sit-in date tonight and I need to change.” Stan sighed dramatically and a chair creaked as he leaned back, “Oh, fine. Have fun, man. I’ll talk to you later.”

“For sure. Seeya this weekend,” Kyle hung up and then hurriedly threw on some nicer clothes than what he’d worn to class. He grabbed a beanie and pulled on a sweatshirt before running down to get in the passenger side of Eric’s Jeep. “Hey, Carrot Cake,” The brunette greeted him, leaning over for a kiss. Kyle was a little more enthusiastic than he was expecting, cupping Eric’s face and mushing their lips together for longer than was entirely chaste. “Wow,” Eric chuckled when they parted, cheeks dusted with a fine blush, “somebody’s in a good mood.” Kyle nodded eagerly, biting his lip, “I just got off the phone with Stan. He’s gonna come visit this weekend.”

Eric was surprised, smiling as he pulled the Jeep out of the parking lot, “That’s great, dude. I’m assuming he’s not gonna want to see me.” His tone of voice was a little sad but also understanding. The ginger shook his head, “I talked to him about that. He said he doesn’t mind. And he wants to go to Pastabilities while he’s here, so he doesn’t really have a choice.” Eric chuckled, “Well, okay.” Kyle watched out the window, furrowing his brow as he noticed they were headed off campus. “I thought we were gonna cook at your dorm?” He asked for clarification, tilting his head as he looked to Eric. The brunette nodded, giving him a crooked smile, “We are. But we need ingredients, right? Plus, I need to grab some stuff for myself anyway.” The redhead hummed in understanding.

They pulled into the Walmart parking lot and Eric picked a spot near the entrance, so they didn’t have to walk as far. He waited for Kyle to meet him around the side of the Jeep, taking his hand as they headed into the building. Kyle honestly felt a little nervous about this; which was stupid because it was just grocery shopping. That didn’t stop the butterflies in his belly, though. He grabbed a cart as Eric took out his phone to go over a list he’d made. “What do we want to make?” He asked, walking beside the cart as Kyle steered. The ginger blinked, “Um.. I honestly hadn’t thought about it. I guess I assumed you’d pick something you already had the stuff for.”

“Well I do have a suggestion, if you aren’t wanting anything specific,” The brunette wiggled his eyebrows. Kyle rolled his eyes, “What is it?” Eric put one hand on the cart to wheel them in the right direction as he said, “As you can probably imagine, I’m pretty tired of Italian food. I’ve really been craving Mexican lately, so I was thinking tacos?” Kyle snorted in amusement, but that honestly sounded pretty good. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had homemade tacos. “Sure,” He agreed, smiling, “what do we need for that?”

They walked around the store, gathering ingredients for their dinner as well as some things Eric needed. Kyle had devolved into standing on the cart and pushing himself along with one foot, mostly just following his companion around. As Eric was browsing an aisle for the right kind of salsa, Kyle was waiting at the end. The music playing over the store speakers was quiet, but loud enough that he could recognize the beat if he strained his hearing. He hummed to himself, watching Eric’s profile as he scrutinized the salsa selection. Biting his lip, Kyle pushed himself forward on the cart, gliding down the aisle behind the brunette. The tall young man noticed the movement out of the corner of his eye, turning his head to give Kyle a weird look, “What are you doing?” The redhead shrugged, turning around at the other end and gliding back the same way.

On his third pass, Eric reached out and caught him by the waist, stopping the cart and eliciting a humiliating squeak from Kyle. The brunette laughed, standing behind him with one arm around his waist and the other on the cart handle, “Having fun?” The ginger huffed, “Well, I _was_ until you grabbed me.”

“Aaw, I’m sorry,” Eric pouted, kissing beside Kyle’s ear and squeezing his middle. They were pressed back to front, Kyle still standing on the rung of the cart, his cheeks and ears bright red now. He tsk’d under his breath as Eric nuzzled between his shoulder and neck. The fingers beside his on the cart handle were idly rubbing circles into the back of Kyle’s hand. This felt very intimate and the Jew closed his eyes, smiling and sighing softly. He had to be the one to end it, of course, but Eric could literally hold him like that for hours. “Have you picked a salsa yet?” Kyle teased, stepping down from the cart to stand flat on the floor and dislodge their embrace.

Eric huffed dramatically, “I mean, it really doesn’t matter, I just don’t know if you want spicy or mild or what.” Kyle hummed and glanced over the wall of the condiment, then leaned to grab a jar, “Spicy is good.” They rung up their haul and Eric paid without a word, even though Kyle offered to pay back half of what the dinner cost; his offer was ignored. They trucked the bags out to the Jeep and loaded everything up before climbing in. “Did you need anything else before we go?” Eric asked, and Kyle shook his head. With that, they headed back to campus and to the taller man’s dorm.

Once they’d gotten everything upstairs and out of the bags, Eric put away the things they didn’t need before starting to thaw the meat in the microwave. Kyle was already unpackaging tomatoes and onions, as well as a few other vegetables and tortillas. “Can we put on music?” The ginger asked, smiling at Eric over his shoulder. He had his weight shifted to one hip, his sweatshirt discarded on a chair and his hair disturbed from taking it off. Eric had the thought that he’d do whatever Kyle wanted as long as he always got to see him this relaxed and content. “Yeah,” He said instead of voicing his affections, “here.” He handed his phone over and Kyle once again navigated to the Vibe Check playlist.

The majority of their cooking was spent humming or quietly singing along to the music. Once Eric had the ground beef in a pan, he covered it and turned to Kyle. The ginger had just finished cutting vegetables and was rinsing the knife he’d used. He caught the taller man’s eye and smiled, “What?” Eric took the knife from him and set it in the sink, then took both of Kyle’s hands and pulled him against his chest. Once the redhead realized what he was doing, he blushed and shook his head, “Dude, I can’t dance, remember? I’m just gonna step on your feet.”

“Then _stand_ on my feet,” The brunette shrugged, grinning. Kyle blinked, furrowing his brow, “Huh?” Eric looked down between them and nudged his foot against Kyle’s, “Stand on my feet. Just trust me.” The ginger eyed him skeptically, but carefully stood on the tops of his feet. They were pressed as close together as two people can be standing up, with one of Eric’s hands on the small of Kyle’s back and the other out to the side in a waltz. The Jew watched his face as they started to move, amused by the smug smile Eric had. “See?” The brunette wiggled his eyebrows, earning an eyeroll from Kyle. But he had to admit, it was sort of sweet that Eric had such a simple solution for his lack of rhythm. Even if he was basically dancing with himself, he still managed to make Kyle feel like they were sharing a moment.

“Thanks,” Kyle found himself mumbling, the hand not holding Eric’s kneading his shoulder. “For what?” The brunette asked, resting their foreheads together. The ginger shrugged, glancing away, “Working around my handicap, I guess.” Eric chuckled softly, their movements slowing to a stop as he leaned down to claim his lips. Kyle caressed over his cheeks, both of Eric’s hands now on his waist. When they parted, the taller man whispered between them, “It’s a quirk. It’s cute.” The ginger puffed out his cheeks, blushing wildly as he muttered back as if it were an insult, “_You’re_ a quirk.” That drew another chuckle.

They separated to set the table and clean up what was no longer needed. “You want a beer?” Eric asked, shifting things around in the fridge to see what beverage options he had. Kyle narrowed his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, “You’re not twenty-one.” The brunette raised an eyebrow as he glanced over his shoulder, “What’s your point?”

“How’d you even get beer?” The Jew challenged, sitting down at the table as Eric laughed and brought two bottles over. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” He winked. Kyle rolled his eyes but accepted the bottle; it wasn’t like they hadn’t started drinking sophomore year, anyway. The scent of seasoned taco meat with the fresh smell of all the plants was surprisingly good. Kyle’s mouth was watering by the time they were both dished and seated. “Not bad, huh, Freckles?” Eric tipped his beer towards him. The ginger clinked his bottle with it before they both took a swig. “I’ll admit, I kinda suck at cooking,” Kyle smiled sheepishly, “I was letting you carry me through it.”

The brunette across from him shrugged, nudging his foot under the table, “Could’ve fooled me. I think you did great.” The ginger blushed and ducked his head shyly, “Thanks.” They ate in a comfortable, warm ambiance, exchanging small talk through full mouths and messy smiles. Cleaning up was easy with two people, even though they would teasingly bump each other or flirtatiously brush against shoulders, lower backs, or hands. By the time they were settling on the couch, Kyle was feeling warm and bubbly. “What are we watching?” He asked as he cuddled up to Eric’s side. The tall young man hummed thoughtfully, one arm around Kyle’s shoulders as he flipped through the options on Hulu, “Dunno.. what are you in the mood for?”

Kyle wasn’t really interested in the television, if he were being honest. He was far more concerned with hugging around Eric’s waist and nuzzling his neck, perhaps inviting something. They’d had only one heavier make out session so far, which was abruptly interrupted by Charlie asking for her electric candle back. Here in this dorm, he knew there’d be no distractions. “Kyle,” Eric’s voice was amused and bordering on sultry. The redhead batted his eyelashes innocently, “What?”

Eric set the remote on the table, turning his body to face Kyle as he hugged him to his chest. He kissed over his cheek and towards his ear, then down the side of his neck. The action was still chaste, like he wasn’t sure it could be anything else. Kyle bit his lip, shivering and teasing the hair at the nape of the taller man’s neck. He hummed softly, leaning back slowly and guiding Eric with him. When his back hit the couch, Kyle stretched his legs out underneath the brunette, fingers kneading over his shoulders and back. Eric leaned over him, propped up on one leg with the other stretched off the couch. He pulled back to look down at the ginger, chuckling nervously with a fierce blush, “Comfortable?”

“Mmhm,” Kyle nodded his head assuredly, gripping the front of the brunette’s shirt and tugging him down into a needy kiss. Eric huffed in surprise but didn’t complain, one hand tangling itself in Kyle’s hair and the other wrapping around his waist as he settled on top of him. He was still holding back, trying to let the redhead pick their pace, but Kyle was doing aggressive things with his teeth and lips and Eric just wanted to be certain. He briefly pulled back, thumbing the side of Kyle’s neck as he asked breathily, “Are you sure?” The ginger puffed impatiently, nodding eagerly and tugging the fabric he was holding, “Yes. Please?”

As if he would deny him anyway; the plea was just too much. Eric shuddered and reclaimed Kyle’s mouth, the hand not in his hair traveling along his thigh and sliding back to grip his ass. The Jew gave a satisfied little sigh, hooking his leg up on the brunette’s hip and grinding them together. Eric gasped into his mouth, grunting and dropping his head onto the shorter man’s shoulder. Their bodies rocked together, mostly encouraged by Kyle, who was mewling and nibbling on Eric’s ear. It was really hard to concentrate with him doing that. He swallowed thickly, sitting up a little to meet Kyle’s eyes. He had something he was going to say, but it died on his tongue when he saw the look on the redhead’s face.

His shirt was askew from their roaming hands, one shoulder pulled farther over than the other. His eyes were half-lidded but they held a fierce and pure need that made Eric’s legs feel like jello. His bottom lip was being worried between his teeth, a coy smirk behind it. “Fuck,” The brunette croaked, admiring the blush that ran from his fiery hair all the way down his neck. “That’s the idea,” Kyle purred in proper smartass fashion, but Eric could only laugh nervously. He rubbed the back of his neck, “Right, well...” He felt fingers dip into his shirt collar, flexing against his skin and drawing goosebumps along the surface. “What are you thinking?” Kyle murmured between them, tracing abstract shapes up his neck and over the shell of both ears. The brunette above him shivered and licked his lips, “Kinda hard to think about anything right now..” Yet his mind was reeling in revering circles. _Kyle’s a dream, Kyle’s a gem, Kyle’s perfect…_

“So don’t,” The redhead leaned up to kiss his cheek, then over the bridge of his nose and down over his jaw as his hands caressed his neck and up into his hair, “just feel.. just kiss me..” Well, when he put it like that. Eric let out a stuttering sigh and pressed him down into the couch cushions, swallowing the little moan Kyle let out with a hungry kiss. The fabric of his jeans was thin and warm under Eric’s hands, but it still wasn’t as satisfying as touching his fair skin would be. He wasn’t sure who removed whose shirt first, but suddenly they were both bare from the waist up and Kyle was raking his nails over his back. The action sent a sharp chill down the brunette’s spine, his hips jerking instinctively. Kyle whimpered and sighed, doing his best to quell his normally vocal reactions.

Eric’s face was pressed to the ginger’s neck, panting and huffing against his throat. Kyle smirked to himself, nipping his cheek the same time his fingers found his erection to rub. The brunette sucked in a sharp, surprised breath, lifting his head to meet the ginger’s coy gaze. “You’re eager for this,” The Jew smiled coyly, his statement teasing. He took in the state of his companion; brown hair falling in his flushed face and pupils the size of tea saucers. To say it was empowering, this affect he had on him, was an understatement. Eric couldn’t even answer him, just nodding his head and thrusting against Kyle’s palm, eyelids fluttering. The ginger mewled in his ear, kissing and licking at his neck as he mumbled, “me too..”

His breath faltered when Eric palmed over his crotch, a deep moan escaping his throat. He slapped a hand over his own mouth, blushing fiercely when the brunette’s eyes flashed mischievously. “Oh,” A grin slowly spread over his face, “have you been holding that in this whole time?” Kyle shook his head stubbornly, but the fact that he was still covering his mouth was less than convincing. Eric hummed thoughtfully, unbuttoning the redhead’s pants and pushing them down just enough. “So, if I did this…” He kissed the back of Kyle’s hand as he drew his fingers along his shaft, teasing him out of his underwear and thumbing the tip attentively. Kyle jolted and dropped his head back against the couch, arching into the feeling as his hand fell away and a pitiful groan forced its way out.

“S’that feel good?” Eric practically purred, rubbing his face against his chest. The ginger gulped and nodded, “Uh-huh..” The brunette chuckled, but his upper hand was short lived as Kyle hunched his shoulders and shoved his jeans all the way off. He then pushed at Eric’s chest, guiding him up so he could sit on his lap and grind his hips down deliciously. Eric grunted and jerked, fumbling to get his own pants off so he could feel Kyle better. There was more petting and giggling as they were both made bare, Kyle cradling the sides of Eric’s face as he kissed him desperately. They held onto each other wherever they could, gripping and pulling at flushed skin as they rocked together. Kyle’s movements stuttered more and more the closer he drew to release, panting against Eric’s mouth and shivering as the brunette’s hands explored his body.

“You’re so beautiful,” Kyle heard him whisper, making him blush even deeper. He didn’t have a response, his head feeling fuzzy and almost intoxicated with the moment. Instead, he blurted the first thing that came to his mind, “God, Eric, I love you..” They locked eyes, Eric’s breath catching in his throat as he stared up at Kyle. They were still grinding against each other, movements slicked with precum and so damn close to breaking. “You love me?” The brunette sounded amazed and disbelieving, his hands on Kyle’s waist and shaking as they kneaded there. The Jew nuzzled their faces together, gripping Eric’s shoulders as his hips desperately chased orgasm, “Y-Yeah.. I love you..” Eric sucked in a breath, mashing their lips together and gripping both their lengths. He stroked them rapidly, relishing Kyle’s moans and whimpers.

The redhead threw his head back with a gasp as his climax finally overtook him, his whole body trembling. It was only made better by Eric following shortly after, face pressed to Kyle’s chest and legs shaking. He didn’t look up, didn’t raise his head, as he cleared his throat and muttered emotionally, “I love you, too, Kyle.. I love you so much..” The ginger sighed happily, wrapping his arms around Eric’s neck and nuzzling the top of his head as they basked in their afterglow.


	8. When Will You Learn That Your Actions Have Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got my sleep schedule back on track only for Pokemon Sword and Shield to drop, so that’s what I’ve been doing for the past week. Decent game. Obvious graphical issues, to me, and I’ve had some weird glitches, but otherwise it’s pretty good. Maybe not worth $60, but ehh. ALSO, I saw Frozen 2 in the theaters and guys.
> 
> GUYS. I have a probabbly shitty idea for a self-indulgent fanfic and like… My god. I love Frozen, it’s my favorite Disney movie. The second one was just as good if not better. Highly recommend, 11/10.
> 
> There’s no smut in this chapter, but for those who read the notes, I have a pressing question: So far, the smut I’ve written has been tame. I have some ideas for this one that are a little more intense, but I don’t want that to be the focus of the fic. Would it be off-putting/distracting for you guys if I were to escalate their sexual relationship? Nothing crazy, still pretty lime compared to most things on this site, but more intense than it’s been so far.

Kyle woke the next morning to the sound of someone murmuring quietly elsewhere in the room. His mouth was dry and his eyes were heavy, so he stubbornly kept them closed. He really needed a shower and a glass of water, but he was too comfortable and warm there on the couch to move just yet. There was a blanket thrown over him, but he registered that he wasn’t naked. He vaguely remembered the night before, smiling to himself and twisting his fingers in the hem of the shirt he was wearing; it wasn’t his, and neither were the boxers he had on. He then realized that the owner of the clothing wasn’t on the couch with him anymore. That must’ve been who was speaking. If he cracked an eye open, he could see Eric’s reflection in the black television screen. He was standing with his back to Kyle, leaned on the kitchen counter in nothing but sweatpants, holding his phone to his ear. Kyle listened closer.

“Yeah, as cool as that sounds, Mom, uh.. I really don’t want to third wheel on a cruise with you and Nicholas,” Eric’s voice was patient but strained, “but that’s a nice Christmas present, I’m sure you’ll have a great time. Don’t worry about me, I don’t mind spending it on campus again.” There was a pause where Liane must have been talking. The brunette rubbed the back of his neck, sighing and pulling a chair over to sit backwards on it, “Uh-huh. No, I’m all covered. Yeah, dorm and tuition. Mmhm.” Another pause. Kyle watched his shoulders tense as Eric ran a hand through his hair, “I do appreciate it, Mom, I just.. c’mon, that’s not fair. Don’t act like he’s being charitable to me, he’s only doing it because it’s what you want.” He half turned in his chair and Kyle squeezed his eyes shut again.

He heard Eric snort and mumble an apology (or something like one), then perk up at a change of subject, “No, no new friends, but.. I did meet up with an old friend. You remember Kyle. Broflovski? He goes to school here now.” Kyle could just imagine the grin on his face as he sighed dreamily and informed his mother through an incredulous laugh, “Yeah, I know. I really can’t believe it either. Happy coincidence. And hey, Mom? I’m dating him.” The redhead faintly but distinctly heard Liane’s high-pitched squeal of excitement, which Eric had to move the phone away from his face to endure. Kyle wondered if she knew about Eric’s previous crush or if she was just happy for her son in general. The brunette’s smile faltered a little and he blew a strand of hair out of his face as he said, “Yeah, well I _wish_ I could do that, but you know how Nicholas is. I’m not about to give him another reason to talk down to me.”

Eric bit his lip, sighing, “It’s okay, Mom. Long as you’re taken care of, it doesn’t matter. Okay. I love you, too. Call you later.” He hung up, then stood to stretch, setting his phone on the counter. The sun was starting to beat in from the long window on his far wall, waking the plants and warming the carpet where it landed. Eric carefully padded back over to the couch, climbing over Kyle and wedging himself between the redhead and the back cushions. Kyle hummed happily, rolling to curl up against his chest, eyelids fluttering but staying closed even though he wasn’t asleep. The brunette chuckled, kissing over his face and into his hair, one hand splayed on his back and the other tracing circles on his hip. The Jew made a soft, sweet noise of enjoyment as he finally opened his eyes. He grunted and nuzzled Eric’s neck, mumbling, “Good morning..”

“Good morning, Gingersnap,” Eric cooed by his ear, “You could really use a shower.” Kyle snorted and weakly pushed at his chest but didn’t move otherwise, “So could you.” Eric hummed and kissed his temple, squeezing him tighter. They laid there for a few minutes, then Kyle eventually raised his head and yawned, “What time is it?”

“Almost noon,” The tall young man informed him, half distracted by kissing along Kyle’s neck and kneading his hip. Much as the redhead wanted to surrender to his actions, a spike of dread shot through his body. He jolted upright, blinking around before saying, “Shit, I’m gonna be late for class!” he scrambled off the couch, grabbing his pants off the floor and pulling them on as fast as he could. Eric stood, looking amused, but he put a shirt and jacket on, anyway. “I’ll drive you,” He assured Kyle, who nodded gratefully and snagged his shoes and sweatshirt on their way out the door. He still had Eric’s shirt and underwear on, but that he was too rushed to notice.

On their way to the parking lot, Kyle did a double take as he noticed Stacy walking to a small car a few spaces away. “Stacy?” He raised an eyebrow, still heading to the Jeep but slower now. She looked up at them and grinned, waving, “Morning!” The redhead glanced to Eric, “Stacy’s in your dorm?” The brunette nodded, smiling, “Yeah. She’s across the hall from me.” He climbed into the Jeep and Kyle followed suit, shaking his head. “Can we stop by my dorm?” The ginger asked hurriedly, “I need to grab my bag.” Eric said that wasn’t a problem, of course.

Sawyer had just reached the stairs, coming back from an early class, when Kyle jumped out of the Jeep and sprinted to the building. “Oh, hey, Sawyer!” He called as he passed him. The spectacled young man blinked rapidly, looking to the Jeep and raising an eyebrow as Eric waved to him. As Kyle ran back down, Sawyer briefly stopped him to ask, “You alright?” Kyle looked confused, “Yeah, sorry, I’m just running late for class. We, uh.. had a late night and I slept longer than I meant to.” He blushed lightly, biting his lip and glancing down at the ground. Sawyer could infer what he meant by that, taking a step back and nodding, “Oh. Okay. Well, have fun in class.”

“Will do!” Kyle gave him a two-finger solute and jogged back over to the Jeep. Sawyer pursed his lips as he watched the vehicle drive off.

* * *

He was standing at the baggage carousel with Stan’s flight number, having arrived about ten minutes ago. Kyle had waited in his truck until his friend texted saying the plane landed. Even when he’d gotten out, he left the vehicle running because today was particularly cold and he wanted it to be warm when they got back to it. Passengers were just starting to trickle into the baggage claim area. The electronic sign on the carousel still said arriving. Kyle watched and bounced on his heels in anticipation, looking for a head of raven hair and the light blue hoodie Stan said he was wearing.

He finally spotted him coming down the escalator, grinning widely as they locked eyes and Stan waved enthusiastically to him. He was hurried to get off the moving stairs, jostling a few people on accident and mumbling an apology without stopping. He had one bag on his shoulder, which he promptly dropped in favor of throwing his arms around Kyle. “Dude, I missed you so fucking much,” Stan nearly sobbed in relief against his shoulder. Kyle shared the sentiment, squeezing his best friend tightly and nodding rapidly. They were still basically the same height, which was amusing. They were standing in the middle of the walkway, though, and a few people commented under their breath about them blocking the road. Kyle broke the embrace, leading Stan off to the side and asking, “Did you check a bag?”

“No,” Stan shook his head, grinning excitedly. The ginger chuckled, “Cool. Let’s head out, then.” He led the way back to his truck, quickly unlocking it and helping Stan throw his bag into the backseat. They both shivered and rubbed their hands in front of the air vents, beaming at each other like this was a dream. “I can’t believe you’re here,” Kyle expressed through a laugh. Stan chuckled with him, “Me either. Even if it’s just for a few days, this is gonna be so great.” Kyle hummed and nodded his agreement as the truck started off back to campus. “So, how was your flight?” He asked, the radio playing quietly and tiny snowflakes whipping by the windows. It was dark outside, the only source of light from the occasional lamp post and Kyle’s headlights. Stan burrowed down into his hoodie, leaning his seat back a little as he yawned, “Cold. And long. But fine otherwise.”

Kyle nodded, smiling at nothing as he watched out the windshield, “Good. I’m glad.” The dark-haired young man grinned at him and lightly punched his shoulder, then retreated into his jacket, “Thanks for picking me up. I was willing to Uber, you know. It’s pretty late.” The redhead snorted, “Yeah, right, like I’d let you Uber. I don’t mind, dude. It’s better this late, anyway, because I had class during the day.” Stan tittered under his breath, looking pleased. Both were tired from the days they’d had, and their brief bursts of excitement from seeing each other was quickly giving way to drowsiness. They were quiet for a few minutes, Stan watching out the window while Kyle drove. It was comfortable, familiar, and the Jew was overwhelmed with relief at having his best friend by his side again. Eventually, Stan turned to him and said, “I’m actually a little surprised you didn’t bring Cartman with you. How you talk about him lately, you seem pretty joined at the hip.”

Kyle blushed and laughed nervously, rubbing his neck as he watched the road ahead, “We are, usually. But he understands that you’re not his biggest fan, so he doesn’t mind sitting out this weekend.” Stan admittedly felt a little guilty about that. Even if he didn’t like the Cartman he remembered, who’s to say he hadn’t changed? Sure, he couldn’t forget the things he’d done in the past, but if he was different enough for Kyle to forgive him, that had to count for something. “I don’t mean to shove him out,” Stan explained, “I mean, I haven’t seen him in four years, he might be more tolerable now. He doesn’t have to stay away just because of me.” That earned him a grateful smile from Kyle, who sighed in relief and said, “Thanks, Stan.” The raven-haired man could tell his friend didn’t fully believe him.

There was another few minutes of silence, then Kyle asked, “How are things with Wendy?” They didn’t talk too in-depth about it over the phone, usually because their conversations were short and to the point. Stan perked up, a fine blush on his face as he said, “Dude, so good. Like, I know we had a rough patch in high school and for a minute there, I thought we’d never work things out. But going to New York with her is the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. She’s so easy to live with. And the sex is _still _bomb.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Kyle rolled his eyes, shaking his head in amusement. Stan was looking at him thoughtfully and he could tell he wanted to ask something, so Kyle raised an eyebrow and stuck his tongue out, “What?”

“Do you and Cartman have sex?”

Well, Kyle wasn’t expecting him to be so blunt about it. He blushed deeply and ducked his head, glancing away, “Uh, well.. I wouldn’t say we _have sex_. We’ve only done it once.” Stan mustered all his effort not to gag, flinch, or laugh at the absurdity of Kyle and Cartman in any sort of intimate situation. Once he got over the initial, knee-jerk reaction, a much more teasing urge came over him. He smirked, raising an eyebrow, “Who bottomed?” Kyle jerked and gaped at him for a moment, then blushed fiercely and glared, “Jesus, Stan. Sex doesn’t have to be sticking your dick in something, you know.” His friend laughed heartily, looking sleepy now that the heat had made the interior of the truck cozy and relaxed. “I know,” He confirmed, “I’m just teasing.” A beat of nothing and then he added, “But if you were to...?”

Kyle rolled his eyes up to the roof of the truck and sighed in exasperation, “I-I don’t know, I really haven’t thought about it, okay?” Stan put his hands up in surrender, smirking and nodding, “Okay, okay.” The ginger gave him a side-eyed glare, sniffing indignantly. “You really like him, huh?” Stan asked, genuinely curious because it sort of baffled his mind. Kyle nodded, giving him a small, crooked smile, “I love him, Stan. I know that’s really weird and it.. kinda sounds like we’re in a totally different dimension, but I do. I can’t even explain why, it’s just…” He shook his head, and Stan watched him with a raised eyebrow and tilted glance. “Maybe it’s whatever made me tolerate him when we were kids,” Kyle mused almost to himself, “because it doesn’t feel that different when we hang out. But there’s no hostility and we don’t argue, it’s like we both decided it wasn’t worth it anymore to pretend like we don’t get along.”

“Pretend?” The dark-haired boy blinked, turning onto his side and leaning against the truck seatback, “What do you mean pretend? You guys _didn’t_ get a long, Kyle.” The redhead slouched his shoulders a little, giving Stan a sheepish, doubtful smile, “Didn’t we?” Stan just stared at him. Kyle mostly kept his eyes on the road but would glance at his friend now and then to see him still staring. Eventually, Stan turned and looked out the windshield, lost in thought for the time being. Did they get along? On the surface, no, of course not. But between the fighting, schemes, sabotages, and name calling, wasn’t there common ground they stood on? Kyle and Cartman were arguably the two smartest people in South Park, a lot of residents agreed on that (even though Stan liked to think that Wendy was smarter). They liked the same activities and media, too. Honestly, if Cartman hadn’t been such an asshole to them all, there was a possibility that… he and Kyle would’ve been very close. It was a jarring thing to imagine.

“Most of your fights were caused by stupid shit,” Stan finally lamented after several minutes of soul searching, “pushing each other’s buttons or disagreeing on something that didn’t even matter. You guys butted heads a lot, that was partly why Kenny and I figured you had to be into each other. Why stay in contact with someone who could make you that angry unless you really wanted to?”

“And why let someone make you that angry unless you really cared what they thought about you..” Kyle put in, avoiding looking at Stan was they turned off an exit into Denver. They weren’t far from the University now, which was good because both boys were tuckered out. “Did you know you cared back then?” Stan asked through a yawn. Kyle shook his head, “I don’t think so. I never admitted it to myself, at least. Couldn’t give him the satisfaction, what if he somehow read my mind?” The ginger was teasing, of course, but that was a very real fear he had in the past. Eric had been known to do wilder things than telepathy. “Hey, I have an overdue question,” The young man beside him stated. Kyle hummed to acknowledge that he was listening. “Did you really think the Coon and Friends franchise would make more money than Freedom Pals?”

Kyle burst out laughing, turning onto campus and navigating towards his dorm, “Oh my God, no. Neither of those stupid franchises were going to make any money, I knew that.”

“Then why did you side with Cartman?” Stan raised an accusatory eyebrow and Kyle bit his lip. He quirked his head to the side, blushing faintly, “I don’t know. Because sometimes being on Cartman’s side meant I got to do more fun stuff than just.. what did you guys do, community service?” Stan glared at him and Kyle put his hands up in surrender, laughing more, “Hey, no judgement! But really, wouldn’t you have rather been marathoning movies and stuffing yourself with junk food ‘til the ass crack of dawn? Because that’s what we did. It was more like a club than a franchise.” Stan was silent for a beat, rolling his eyes, then accused, “But you let Cartman think he was right. How could you do that in good conscience?” The redhead shook his head as he parked in his dorm’s parking lot, “Oh, please, he knew we weren’t making money out of it. He just liked having his name at the front of the title and he thought it was hilarious that everybody was arguing like it mattered.”

“What? How do you know that?” Stan asked, reaching back to grab his duffel and climb out of the truck with Kyle. The Jew bit his lip and hesitated before admitting, “Because he told me. I don’t know why he told me, I didn’t ask him to. And I don’t know why he didn’t think I wouldn’t tell you. Maybe he didn’t care.” His friend came around the truck to stand beside him, shouldering his bag and raising an eyebrow, “Why _didn’t_ you tell us?” Kyle paused, chewing the inside of his lip as he furrowed his brow and thought about it, “… I don’t know. I guess I was having fun.” Stan shook his head in disbelief, scoffing under his breath, “A lot of stuff you ‘don’t know’ relating to Cartman, huh?” Kyle didn’t answer. He was sure if he asked, Eric would be truthful with him now. But honestly, he didn’t care that much.

As they were walking up the steps to his dorm, he heard keys jingling in the hallway. Sawyer was unlocking his door, turning his head when he noticed movement. He blinked in surprise at this new person walking with Kyle instead of Eric. “Hey, Kyle,” The spectacled young man greeted, half waving with the hand that held his keys. The ginger smiled widely and waved back, quelling the embarrassment of Stan finally meeting the people he’d talked to him and Kenny about, “Hey, Sawyer. This is my best friend, Stan. He’s visiting for the weekend.” Stan grinned proudly at his introduction, stepping forward to shake Sawyer’s hand, “Good to meet you, Sawyer. I’ve heard a bit about you.”

“Really?” Sawyer looked surprised and flattered, giving Kyle a cute little smile. The redhead nodded, rubbing his neck, “I’ve talked about you and Charlie a little.” The shorter man hummed, “Right. Well, welcome to campus, Stan. I hope you enjoy your stay.” He excused himself into his room and Kyle quickly steered them to his own, locking the door behind them. “That’s the guy you had a crisis over?” Stan asked quietly through a chuckle, “I’m curious to see what Cartman looks like now because Sawyer doesn’t strike me as your type.” Kyle turned on the lamp so there was a little light in the room, gesturing for Stan to throw his bag anywhere as he toed his shoes off, “He doesn’t? What’s my type, then?”

Stan shrugged dramatically and pulled his sweatshirt off, fine to sleep in the comfortable clothes he was wearing, at least for tonight. “I assume whatever Cartman is,” He teased, laying back on the bed with a relieved sigh. Kyle didn’t bother to change, either, already in sweats and a loose t-shirt. Stan scooted over so he could lay beside him, rolling so they were back to back in familiar, sleepover fashion. They’d done this countless times before, it was easy to adjust to now. Kyle left the lamp on just in case either of them needed to use the bathroom during the night, yawning and snuggling down into the mattress. “Good night, Stan,” He mumbled, a clear smile in his voice. Stan’s grin was no less evident as he replied, “G’night, Kyle. See you tomorrow.” The sentiment was nostalgic to both of them.

* * *

Kyle really needed to start warning his guests about Mikah. Seven am on the dot, the dorm started shaking with his blasted music. The ginger groaned and put his hands over his ears, no less irritated even though he’d been dealing with it for over two months now. Stan, on the other hand, immediately sat upright and blinked his eyes at nothing. He glared around at the walls, having to raise his voice for his friend to hear him ask, “What in the fresh fuck is that?” Kyle sighed heavily, sitting up as he watched Stan already head for the door, “It’s my neighbor..” He didn’t think the raven-haired boy actually heard him, his door already open and his best friend disappearing through it. The ginger quickly got up to follow.

This would be the second time Mikah was surprised to find the person banging on his door was not Charlie. Although Stan wasn’t as eloquent as Eric had been, immediately growling in the rock fan’s face, “Turn that shit off, assbag. People are trying to sleep.” Once again, Kyle was left standing in the hallway with Charlie soon joining him, watching his childhood friend tell off his inconsiderate dormmate. Charlie snorted in his ear, “Another one of your friends?” he nodded, barely glancing at her just in time to catch her eyeroll. “Is he also from South Park?” She sounded as if she already knew the answer. Kyle narrowed his eyes and nodded again, “Yeah. Why?”

“You’re all just very stubborn and aggressive, that’s all,” The young woman shrugged. Her tone was flat, but she seemed amused.

Mikah almost argued with Stan but must’ve decided it wasn’t worth it because he turned his music off. Before he got to say anything, the dark-haired young man leaned into Mikah’s dorm and grabbed the door handle to slam it shut himself. He dusted his hands together as he headed back to Kyle, pausing and tilting his head when he spotted Charlie. “Hey,” He curiously greeted her. She chuckled, “Hey. Name’s Charlie. I’m down there.” She jerked her thumb behind her towards the other end of the hall. Stan nodded and glanced to his best friend, replying, “Stan. I’m visiting Kyle for the weekend.” The ginger smiled and explained, “Stan’s been my best friend since we were little kids.”

Charlie eyed them both for a moment, then shook her head and turned to head back to her dorm room, “Well, have fun visiting, Stan. Seeya later, carrot top.” Once she was gone, Stan turned to Kyle and asked, “Does everybody comment on your hair?” The ginger laughed, leading the way back into his room, “At some point or another, yeah.” He shrugged, making sure everything he needed today was in his bag before looking for clothes to wear. Stan laid down on the bed, watching him through a yawn, “Early class?”

“Not too early,” Kyle chuckled, “but I like to sit at this café to wake up in the mornings.” His friend hummed where he laid, seeming to consider something. Eventually, he sat up and changed his shirt, grabbing his jacket. “Sure, I’ll go with you,” He teased as if Kyle asked. The Jew scoffed in amusement, “Oh, thank you.” They headed out to the truck, mostly silent on the ride over. When the bell above the door announced their entrance, Ryan popped his head up from behind the espresso machine and grinned. “Hey, Kyle,” He waved, looking curious about Stan’s presence. “Hey, Ryan,” Kyle smiled widely at him, sitting at the corner and gesturing for Stan to sit next to him, “This is my good friend, Stan.” Ryan wiped his hands on his apron before accepting a handshake. “You from South Park, too?” He asked with a head tilt. The dark-haired man rolled his eyes and nodded, shrugging, “Originally. Although I live in New York with my girlfriend, now.”

“A man who knows what he wants,” The barista chuckled, impressed, “you don’t happen to the friend Kyle told me is the kid of Randy Marsh, do you?” Stan blinked in surprise, shooting Kyle a look before sighing and nodding his head, “Yeah, that’s my dad.” Ryan got an amazed and excited look on his face, leaning against the counter and saying enthusiastically, “Dude, your old man is hilarious, I love seeing him on TV.” Stan stifled another sigh and rubbed his neck, chuckling in amusement at the fact that his dad had an actual fan. “His ego would blow past the moon if he heard you say that,” He muttered. As they settled in and ordered their coffee, he shot Kyle a halfhearted glare for telling someone about his relation to his ridiculous father. The redhead just smiled sheepishly with a shrug.

Once their coffee and breakfast were finished, the duo bid goodbye to Ryan. Kyle dropped Stan off at the dorms and gave him his room key, telling him just to leave it unlocked for when he got home. Then the redhead went to spend a boring two hours listening to his professor drone on about basic taxonomy.

By the time class was over and Kyle had driven back to his dorm, it was just past noon and he was getting hungry again. Stan was asleep when he entered the room, rolling his eyes fondly and not bothering to turn on the lamp. He opened the shades just enough to give himself some light, settling at his desk to do some schoolwork while his friend was napping. Eric had sent him a good morning text earlier, saying he had to work through the middle of the day if they wanted to drop in for lunch. That sounded like a great idea to Kyle, but he’d wait for Stan’s opinion before giving the brunette an answer. As he typed and scribbled in his notebook, his mind wandered to Eric off and on. Their relationship was getting pretty serious, Kyle recognized, and he briefly wondered if they should talk about labeling it. But something about that made it feel cheap and superficial. They shouldn’t have to talk about a label, it should be something that comes naturally. It _was _something that would come naturally.

With another presence in the room, Stan didn’t sleep for much longer. He rolled onto his back and yawned, blinking at the sight of Kyle typing away at his desk. The ginger noticed him out of the corner of his eye, smiling and finishing whatever he was writing before turning to Stan. “Good afternoon, sleeping beauty,” He teased, earning a grunt and a groggy eyeroll from his dark-haired friend. “Is it really after noon?” Stan slurred, voice a little hoarse from neglect. He reached for his phone, checking the time as if he didn’t believe it. Kyle chuckled and nodded, “Yeah, and I’m starving. I’ve been waiting for you to wake up so we can go get lunch.”

The unspoken question floated between them. Stan caught Kyle’s gaze and decided he should probably be the good, supportive friend. He stifled his sigh behind another yawn, sitting up and stretching, “Guess you should finally show me this Italian restaurant, then.” The redhead beamed at him, nodding eagerly and closing his laptop. Kyle moved to put his shoes on as Stan rubbed his eyes and looked for his jacket. The ginger was obviously anxious to get going, shifting his weight as he stood by the door, waiting for Stan to finish getting ready. He ushered them down to his truck, grinning to himself as they headed out. “You’re excited,” Stan commented teasingly, exchanging a few check-in texts with Wendy. Kyle shrugged nonchalantly but he didn’t deny it, “Wouldn’t you be, if it were Wendy? It’s been a couple days since I’ve seen Eric and I’m anxious for you guys to meet again.”

Stan chuckled and fiddled with the radio, flipping through the saved stations until he found something that was tolerable. The music he and Kyle liked had a very small margin of overlap, but they made it work. Besides, it wasn’t a very long drive; they were pulling into the parking lot in no time. Kyle noticed Eric’s Jeep parked at the back and found a spot near it, the smile still on his face. Stan was perplexed by it. In concept, he knew full well that Kyle and Cartman were dating. Hell, the redhead had admitted to being in love with him just last night. But seeing it in person was so different than hearing about it. He honestly didn’t know what to think.

As they reached the door, he thanked Kyle for holding it for him. Immediately, his eyes swept the restaurant for anybody who looked even vaguely like Cartman. No one stood out to him so far. Kyle led them to the tall tables in the back. Stan noticed he was also looking around, which meant Cartman probably wasn’t in the main area right now. The overall aesthetic was pleasing, and the name was amusing; Stan was pleased with the restaurant itself, so far. He was curious if the food was as good as Kyle said it was or if that was just an excuse for how often he ate there. The ginger’s leg was bouncing where it rested on the chair rungs. “You look nervous,” Stan chuckled. “I am nervous,” Kyle confirmed, but didn’t elaborate as to why. Stan could guess, anyway.

Kyle glanced towards the kitchen and his eyes lit up, a grin and a blush slowly spreading over his face. His dark-haired friend turned to who he could only assume was Cartman because he did look _very_ different from how he remembered. The brunette was tall and wide. Stan couldn’t tell if he’d lost weight or if he grew into himself. Either way, he must have looked surprised because Kyle laughed and said, “I told you he wouldn’t be what you’re expecting.”

“Do I pass or fall short of those expectations?” Eric chuckled nervously, making an effort to be lighthearted for Kyle’s sake, “Welcome back to Denver, Stan.” He held out his hand, which Stan took without hesitation. A smirk broke over his face as he said, “Good to be back. Never thought you’d be at my welcome party, but I can’t say I’m disappointed. Yet.” Eric laughed, relieved that Stan was also being civil. He pushed his fingers back through his hair, shrugging, “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get to that part.” Kyle was grinning between them. “You look totally different,” Stan admitted, quirking an eyebrow. “You look about the same,” Eric said honestly, earning an eyeroll from the dark-haired young man. He sighed dramatically, “Shouldn’t hope for a compliment in return, I guess.”

“Who said that isn’t a compliment?” The brunette gave him a crooked smile. Stan actually laughed, shaking his head. “If I could interrupt for just a second,” Kyle mumbled, tugging on Eric’s sleeve to get his attention. Stan tried not to let is eyes bug out of his head too far as they shared a brief, chaste kiss in front of him. “Wendy’s not gonna believe this,” He muttered to himself, shaking his head and staring down at the table. “You’re still with Wendy?” Eric sounded impressed, “How’s she doing?” Stan’s first reaction was to be defensive because he was used to Cartman constantly ragging on his girlfriend. However, his question sounded genuine enough that Stan squashed his qualms and answered, “Really good. We’re happy living together.” Eric nodded, smiling. Kyle was pleased, especially as Stan laughed at the name tag of the shift: _Thanos._

* * *

They had a few hours before Stan needed to catch his plane home. The prior evening had been fun and relaxed. After Eric got off work, he stopped by Kyle’s dorm for a bit to chit chat and play a few rounds of Uno. He and Stan got on surprisingly well, but there was still an underlying mistrust between them. That was fine, though; they didn’t have to be friends, they just had to be friendly around Kyle. Eric, to his credit, had kept the touching to a minimum to spare Stan’s sanity. He was the cuddlier of the couple and Kyle admired his resolve, especially when they’d been sitting so close. They did share a heated kiss at the end of the night, but they’d kept that in the hallway and out of the dark-haired man’s sight.

Kyle was currently flipping through his notes looking for something specific he needed for a worksheet, idly conversating with Stan about what they’d do next time and sharing the hope that he could stay longer. They also discussed Kyle going out to visit Stan and Wendy at some point in the future. A knock on the door made them both look up. Kyle stood to answer it, kind of unsurprised to find Sawyer standing there. “Hey,” Kyle greeted him with a smile. Sawyer smiled back, “Hey. Do you and Stan want to go to a movie with Charlie and me in an hour?”

“I don’t think we have time,” Stan supplied from where he sat on the bed, reading memes on his phone, “My plane leaves in three hours, so we gotta go pretty soon.” Sawyer’s face fell a little and he gave Kyle a disappointed sigh, “Oh, okay.” There was a pause and Kyle was going to ask if he needed anything else, then the spectacled young man asked, “How’s Eric doing?” The redhead was a little surprised by the random question, but he took it in stride. “Eric’s great,” He nodded, “we’re doing great.” Stan made a teasing gagging sound behind him and Kyle threw a glare over his shoulder. Sawyer tipped his head curiously, reading into that, “You don’t like him?” Stan shook his head, “It’s not that I don’t like him, we’re just not friends. But that’s fine, he’s not my boyfriend, so it’s not my business.”

Sawyer hummed to himself, thinking hard for a moment. As if summoned by their conversation, Eric appeared at the end of the hallway with a smile on his face. “Hey, guys,” He greeted as he approached them. Sawyer put visible distance between them, stuffing his hands on his pockets. “Hey, Cartman,” Stan waved from inside the room. “Hey. I didn’t know you were coming over,” Kyle commented, but he didn’t look the least bit bothered. Eric shrugged and nodded, “I know, I just wanted to say goodbye to Stan. Can I talk to you for a second?” Kyle and Sawyer blinked, then looked to Stan for his answer. The young man shrugged and stood, stowing his phone in his pocket, “Sure.” Sawyer stepped aside for him to exit the room, then lingered with Kyle.

Here it was. He was fully expecting the asshole behavior he’d been waiting for to rear its ugly head; for Cartman to gloat about convincing Kyle to date him as joke, for Cartman to laugh at Stan for being so gullible. He was not expecting Cartman to lead him a little ways down the hall, then turn to him and say, “I just wanted to say thanks for not making a big scene about Kyle and me dating.” Stan was so thrown that any retort he’d prepared flew straight out of his ass, leaving him staring at the brunette with a slack jaw and furrowed brow, “Huh?” Cartman pushed his hair out of his face, seemingly nervous as he repeated, “I know you don’t trust me. I can feel it. But thanks for not voicing it to Kyle. He was really worried we’d fight.” Stan stared at him for a few seconds longer, then laughed and shook his head, “Wow. I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting this. I mean, if you’re fucking with me, you’re doing a really good job.”

“I’m not,” Cartman sighed sincerely, “believe it or not, I.. I really like Kyle. I love him. It sounds fucking weird, but I do. And I’m glad that, even if you and I won’t ever be friends, we can act like it around him.” Stan decided to take a big risk that would either expose Cartman for the liar he was or confirm how much he’d changed. “Hm,” Stan gave him an impressed smile, “maybe you are different. A little whipped, but you know, Kyle’s just a dominant personality.” For a second, he thought Cartman was going to get angry at him, but the brunette blushed and laughed instead, “Uh.. I guess you could call it that, sure.”

Stan had to give him props. If he was acting, it was very convincing. Still, the dark-haired young man sighed and said, “Look, I don’t entirely believe that this isn’t somehow a huge prank. But I do know that Kyle really believes it’s not. And I take comfort in knowing that if you do cross him, he’s still capable of kicking your ass, no matter how tall you get.” The taller man laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, “Yeah, I know.” They stood in silence for a moment, then Stan held out his hand and said, “It was good seeing you again. Glad to know you’re not still a complete asshole.” Cartman shook it with a smug smile, “Good to know you’re not still a dick.” They headed back towards the room, Kyle and Sawyer watching curiously.

Eric smiled at Kyle, “I better head out. Got a mini exam first thing in the morning.” The ginger nodded and leaned up to peck his cheek, “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He and Stan disappeared back into the room to get everything ready for the airport. As Eric was walking back outside, he was stopped on the stairs by a small hand gripping his arm. Surprised, he turned to see Sawyer a few steps above him. “What’s up?” The brunette asked. Sawyer licked his lips before asking rather bluntly, “Why aren’t you and Stan friends?” Eric furrowed his brow, thinking that really wasn’t any of Sawyer’s business. However, he didn’t want to come across defensive. He shrugged, “Because I did some pretty dumb, mean things to him as a kid. Stan’s not the kind of person that can forgive that sort of thing, and that’s fine.”

“Mean in what way?” The spectacled student pressed. Eric narrowed his eyes this time, “Um.. No offense, Sawyer, because I think you’re an alright guy.. but that’s not really any of your business.” Soon as his voice became stern, Sawyer backed off. He nodded rapidly, “You’re right, I’m sorry, I was just curious. Good night.” Then he turned and nearly ran back up the stairs to his dorm room. Eric was at a loss for what to think about the exchange, but he shrugged and headed back to his Jeep, deciding not to let it bother him. Sawyer, on the other hand, would be bothered by his revelation for the rest of the night. If what he assumed was correct, then he and Kyle needed to have a serious talk.


End file.
